Protection and Civil Defense
Civilian Emergency Services
Police Station or Police Command Facility
Historical Exposition “The Burning Conscience”
Full name of site:
Cēsis KGB Facility
Location:
Pils iela 12, Cēsis, Cēsu pilsēta, Letland
Operational period:
1939
to
1957
Primary user:
KGB
Description:
The historical exhibit ‘Fire of Conscience’ is located in Cēsis, near the Cēsis Castle Square. Established in a Soviet-era temporary detention facility, it tells about the occupation of Latvia and reveals surprising and heroic stories of resistance from individuals. The yard features a memorial wall with the names of 643 residents of the former Cēsis district who died in Soviet repressions, including national partisans deported in 1941 and 1949 and those shot and sentenced to death. The exhibit’s timeline encourages visitors to study the course of the occupation of Latvia from 1939 to 1957.
Ownership:
Cēsis Association of Latvian Politically Repressed Persons
Valuation of authenticity and integrity:
Everything here is real: cells with iron doors, built-in ‘kormushkas’ (small openings for providing food), plank beds, a latrine for detainees, a small kitchen with an oven, as well as typical Soviet-era oil paint on the walls.
Status and access:
Museum. Open to the public