The museum was established on 14 October 1996 in the basement premises of the former KGB pre-trial detention centre, where the first exhibitions dedicated to the repressions carried out by the Soviet occupation authorities were created. Since 2019, the Historical and Memorial Museum of Political Prisoners has been a department of the Museum of the National Liberation Struggle of the Ternopil Region.
The museum’s exhibition halls are located in 11 of the 28 former detention cells of the Soviet security service. The exhibitions feature materials from the museum’s collections that present the history of the national liberation struggle in the Ternopil region and illustrate the repressive actions of the NKVD against local intellectuals and Ukrainian patriots.
As an important part of cultural tourism in the Ternopil region, the Museum of Political Prisoners has become widely known both in Ukraine and abroad. It has already welcomed more than 150,000 visitors from all regions of Ukraine, as well as tourists from many countries around the world.
The museum provides a wide range of services, organizes events and public initiatives, and supports cultural and social projects related to the Ukrainian people’s national liberation struggle.
