Hoa Lo Prison Memorial

The Hoa Lo Prison site is in the French quarter of Hanoi by the French who occupied Hanoi. The prison was built in 1896 in the middle of Hanoi in order to detain Vietnamese patriots who opposed their rule. Hoa Lo prison has the area of 13,000 m2, which is the most ancient prison architecture of Indochina. It is surrounded by stone walls, 4 metre high steel and reinforced by barbed-wire system of high voltage lines and broken glass cemented to all wall edges. There are four corner towers are capable of observing the entire prison. The main gate was built with the two stoney building with the dome-shaped structure.

This is where many revolutionary soldiers and patriots of Vietnam were killed. According to the original design, Hoa Lo only should only detain about 500 people. But it has been extended and in the 1950s-1953s, the Hoa Lo detained over 2000 people.

After the capital was liberated on 10th October 1954, Hoa Lo Prison was controlled by the revolutionary government. During 1964-1973s Hoa Lo Prison became the place to detain the American pilots.

The prison was very depressing in the way the prisoners were treated in the early years but it showed that the American pilots captured during the Vietnam war were well looked which we are not sure if this is true.

Another inspiring place in Hanoi reflecting its varied history.Read more