Lukiskes Remand Prison in central Vilnius will be officially closed on Tuesday, with the last inmates being moved on Monday, the Ministry of Justice announced on Monday.
The prison complex, incorporating a prison, hospital, production and administration building and the Saint Nicholas Orthodox Church, has been on the list of cultural valuables since 2002.
Around 700 arrestees and convicts were kept in this prison earlier this year, but have been gradually moved to other correctional facilities.
"The prison will be handed over to state enterprise Turto Bankas (Property Bank) soon and it will then be decided if the property will be sold, but that's no longer the ministry's matter," Justice Minister Elvinas Jankevičius said.
A discussion will also be held within the next two weeks on what the prison premises could be used for.
"We hope that at least part of the property will be sold and we will get funds for making the punishment [penal] system more effective […] But the most important things is that people will no longer see barbed wires," the minister said.
It's currently unclear what will happen to the historic complex, however, it can't be demolished due to its protecred status.
