Successful prison break – staff in big trouble!

A successful escape attempt was carried out from Veszprém prison; the inmates were, of course, later captured, and sanctions were imposed. The story of the escape was also a success. Just as the themed days planned for the fall break were a success at the Dungeon Visitor Center.

The former dungeon's prisoners were transferred in 2003 to the correctional facility that is still in operation today. However, the Visitor Center in the Dungeon remains open, and interest—due to the uniqueness of the subject matter—remains very high. The greatest success of the thematic days, which began on October 23, was indeed the interactive activity, and it required some detective work. We were curious to see which story, adapted and presented in the theater, would most captivate our visitors: it turned out to be the successful prison break in Veszprém in 1991. The theme of escapes from correctional facilities appears in countless action films. Well, in Veszprém, one of the challenges in the adventure investigation was directly related to this very topic. Solving the puzzles was such an experience for our visiting groups that our staff had a real dilemma—how should they reward the correctly completed worksheets? And— given that the county seat also held the title of European Capital of Culture in 2023, within the framework of which the visitor center itself was established—we thought we would reward the interest, the persistent investigative work, and the correct answers with souvenirs commemorating the year 2023. Beyond that, it was obviously a great gift to be able to recount the story of the successful capture, its background, and its aftermath. We recount all of this in person, as well as through other materials prepared by the visitor center, related to criminal history, the concepts of crime and punishment, and the varying interpretations of these concepts across different eras—with all our dear visitors who wish to enrich themselves with experiences in an experience-rich setting. And rest assured, all our visitors are free to leave—so there’s no need to repeat the experience of being trapped.