The Spaç Prison () was a
political
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...
prison
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...
in
Communist Albania
The People's Socialist Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika Popullore Socialiste e Shqipërisë, links=no) was the Marxist–Leninist one party state that existed in Albania from 1946 to 1992 (the official name of the country was the People's R ...
at the village of Spaç. The former prison is listed as a second-category national monument. There were plans to turn the rapidly deteriorating site into a museum, but as of February 2013, no progress had been made at the location. In 1973, a number of prisoners staged a rebellion where the non-communist flag was raised. In 1984, a similar rebellion took place at the prison of
Qafë Bar.
In 2015, the prison was listed by the New York-based organisation World Monument Fund as one of the 50 most endangered monuments worldwide.
In 2019, Tirana-based organization Cultural Heritage without Border - Albania, with the help of a team of students from
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is a Private university, private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1865 in Worcester, WPI was one of the United States' first engineering and technology universities and now has 14 ac ...
created a publicly accessible digital reconstruction of the Spaç Prison.
See also
*
Forced labour camps in Communist Albania
Communist Albania maintained labour camps (, meaning ''work camps'') throughout the territories it controlled. The first Communist Albanian labour camps were around Tirana (although several other camp systems were developed in the north and sou ...
*
Prison of Burrel
References
External links
Spaç prison on YoutubeSee the location of former political prison of Spaç on Google Map
People's Socialist Republic of Albania
Prisons in Albania
Buildings and structures in Mirditë
{{Albania-museum-stub