The Torture Museum is a nice little museum in the outer courtyard of Corvin Castle in Hunedoara, Romania. The museum is near to the main entrance bridge to the castle, very close to the ticket kiosk.
Known as Expozitia De Tortura, is an exhibition of the historical torture techniques used in the area in medieval times. A grisly topic but fascinating none the less, this exhibition was in a dungeon near the entrance of the castle.
Torture In Transylvania, Inside The Castle
Entering Corvin Castle through the main entrance rather than heading to the main courtyard, there are some side rooms. These lead down some stone stairs and into a dungeon that they used in the past as a torture chamber. The dungeon has fascinating exhibits of devices and methods used in the castle’s history.
Each implement and display has English descriptions of the torture method. Descriptions also showed what crimes they used these methods for. It is all very brutal and fascinating at the same time. The exhibits mainly focus on methods used in the 14th to 17th century. The archive had many artefacts showing the methods of punishment and interrogation uses. This had some with lifelike figures enduring their punishments.
Torture Museum
Outside of the Expozitia De Tortura, is a guillotine that sets the tone and then draws you to the exhibition. Visitors can put your head into the mock guillotine and feel like the last moments of the condemned.
The exhibition is in the building’s basement that houses the administrative spaces of the medieval complex. It is also the Museum of Archaeology, History and Ethnography Hunedoara. The exhibition shows visually and with sound effects scenes from the tortures practised in Transylvania, in the Middle Ages.
The exhibition features replicas of torture devices such as the Judas Cradle, the Iron Maiden to name a few. Artists and historians created this exhibition to create a horrific atmosphere. This was to show the victims’ suffering realistically. The lighting and sound effects really add to the atmosphere, including the cries of pain.
Medieval Torture Techniques
During the Middle Ages, they considered torture a legitimate means of extracting confessions. They also used it for punishing criminals and executing a sentence. Some methods were considerably harsher than others. They considered torturing essential because it was using the principle; “It is better that one thousand innocents perish than to let one heretic walk free”.
They built a torture chamber, especially to instil fear into a person’s heart. They usually built it underground, with limited light. In front of the room, with a covered face and wearing a black hood, the torturer awaited.
Typically, he would get the “heretic” frightened by describing every detail of what was going to happen to them. They would then start the ordeal after the instruments got blessed and sprinkled with holy water.
Opening Hours & Cost
The exhibition is open from Monday to Sunday, between 09:00 and 20:00. The entry fee is RON 10, which equates to about £2 or $2.4. FURTHER INFO…
I am not sure if the museum is dog-friendly. But on my visit, the receptionist really wanted to meet the dog and waved him in.