The Horror of the Corner House

Tweet

The history of horror and torture very often does not just go away. There is always some evidence of these things left behind. In the center of the capital of Latvia, Riga you can see a beautiful Art Nouveau building known as The Corner House. The building holds many horrible secrets since it was once the former headquarters of the KGB. A place, where political prisoners were taken and tortured and at times killed. I would not be surprised if there were many tormented souls still haunting this place. In 1940 Riga was under Soviet control and along with this the leaders brought in the KGB secret police. They set up their headquarters in the Corner House. The unfortunate people who were summoned for questioning often disappeared into the depths of the building. Some of the crimes were holding “anti-Soviet conversations” or “instigating panic”. Many of these people were executed in the basement of the Corner House. Others were stuffed into tiny cells and kept in conditions that often made them go mad. During WW II when the Nazis came into the city they opened the doors to this house to instill trust in the people that they did not condone the horrors of the Soviets. Once the Nazis left the city the Soviets came right back in and took over the Corner House again. Once Latvia regained independence in 1991 the building was closed off. Then in 2012 some part of it was reopened as a museum and visitors could get a look at the secretive headquarters of the KGB. The official documentation had been hidden away and people could just see the location and what remained of the spaces where torture and imprisonment had occurred. Since I have a sixth sense and I can feel for the world beyond I have passed this house many times but I have never gone in to see it because it has sent chills over my body by just looking at it. I could never bring myself to go inside. Photo of the Corner House