History
The ruins of the abandoned prison and quarry outside the small Estonian town of Rummu were once a dreaded hell hole of Soviet-era punishment. The prison was built in 1938 in a convenient location, on the lip of a limestone quarry in which the inmates were forced to work. The first structures were wooden barracks, guard posts and a factory with a roofed area for the quarry workers.
The main concrete structures of the prison were built in the 1960s to 1980s, keeping in line with the requirements of a prison colony at the time. As the limestone depleted in the 1970s, the inmates were redirected to metal and wood industries.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union and subsequent changes in the legal system, the concept of forcing inmates to work ended. This also meant that the redirection of the water overflow stopped in addition to the water pump and the water level started to rise in the quarry.
This led to the rapid rise in the water level that quickly submerged the territory of the former vocational school and industrial complex. The underwater site of the quarry is huge and is a very popular place for scuba divers and the like.
The prison was renamed “Murru prison” from 1994-2011. From 2011 the prison was merged with the Harku prison and the official title changed to “Harku and Murru prison”. The Rummu quarry and Murru prison was officially closed on January 1st, 2013.
The explore
Visiting the quarry was a top priority on my to do list when visiting Eastern Poland and the Baltics.
I got the bus from Tallin to the small town and my intention was to just visit the popular quarry however when I arrived I noticed that there was a massive derelict prison next to it. After entering the quarry I found a way into the huge prison complex.
I explored all the buildings I could see , the place is absolutely massive. Some of the power was still on in some the buildings and the place looked untouched. There were some boards displaying old photographs of the prison so it looks like they may do tours in the area but I didn't see anyone for the entire day.
The prison has 6 blocks of boarding houses/cells for the prisoners. There was also what looked like a maximum security area for more dangerous prisoners. The inside of this building was really grim, it must of been a horrendous place to be held.
Unfortunately, earlier in the trip I managed to crash my drone into the Masurian canal when recording a giant concrete Nazi structure, so I couldn't get an arial shots of the prison. I intend to go back at some point and capture these.
This is my first upload in ages - apologies if there's some poor quality images.
The ruins of the abandoned prison and quarry outside the small Estonian town of Rummu were once a dreaded hell hole of Soviet-era punishment. The prison was built in 1938 in a convenient location, on the lip of a limestone quarry in which the inmates were forced to work. The first structures were wooden barracks, guard posts and a factory with a roofed area for the quarry workers.
The main concrete structures of the prison were built in the 1960s to 1980s, keeping in line with the requirements of a prison colony at the time. As the limestone depleted in the 1970s, the inmates were redirected to metal and wood industries.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union and subsequent changes in the legal system, the concept of forcing inmates to work ended. This also meant that the redirection of the water overflow stopped in addition to the water pump and the water level started to rise in the quarry.
This led to the rapid rise in the water level that quickly submerged the territory of the former vocational school and industrial complex. The underwater site of the quarry is huge and is a very popular place for scuba divers and the like.
The prison was renamed “Murru prison” from 1994-2011. From 2011 the prison was merged with the Harku prison and the official title changed to “Harku and Murru prison”. The Rummu quarry and Murru prison was officially closed on January 1st, 2013.
The explore
Visiting the quarry was a top priority on my to do list when visiting Eastern Poland and the Baltics.
I got the bus from Tallin to the small town and my intention was to just visit the popular quarry however when I arrived I noticed that there was a massive derelict prison next to it. After entering the quarry I found a way into the huge prison complex.
I explored all the buildings I could see , the place is absolutely massive. Some of the power was still on in some the buildings and the place looked untouched. There were some boards displaying old photographs of the prison so it looks like they may do tours in the area but I didn't see anyone for the entire day.
The prison has 6 blocks of boarding houses/cells for the prisoners. There was also what looked like a maximum security area for more dangerous prisoners. The inside of this building was really grim, it must of been a horrendous place to be held.
Unfortunately, earlier in the trip I managed to crash my drone into the Masurian canal when recording a giant concrete Nazi structure, so I couldn't get an arial shots of the prison. I intend to go back at some point and capture these.
This is my first upload in ages - apologies if there's some poor quality images.
