World Prisons
All prisons

Romania · Gherla

Gherla prison

Low
Verified
Aging · 5mo ago
Sources last reviewed on

Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.

For families

How to send mail, money, and visit Gherla prison

Step-by-step guidance using the Romania system — addresses, money services, visit booking, what to bring on your first visit.

Open toolkit
Photograph of Gherla prison

Gallery

From Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA where not otherwise stated).

  • A börtön bejárata, középen az igazgatósági épület. Fortepan 86642.jpg

    Photo by FOTO:Fortepan — ID 86642: Adományozó/Donor: Magyar Földrajzi Múzeum / Erdélyi Mór cége. archive copy at the Wayback Machine via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • Gherla 05.jpg

    Photo by Unknown authorUnknown author via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  • Torturi Gherla - Icoana Diaconesti 001.jpg

    Photo by Cuvântul Ortodox (www.cuvantul-ortodox.ro) via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

  • Torturi Gherla - Icoana Diaconesti 002.jpg

    Photo by Cuvântul Ortodox (www.cuvantul-ortodox.ro) via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Background

Gherla Prison is a penitentiary located in the Romanian city of Gherla (Hungarian: Szamosújvár), in Cluj County. The prison dates from 1785; it is infamous for the treatment of its political inmates, especially during the Communist regime. In Romanian slang, one of the generic words for a prison is "gherlă", after the institution.

Source: Wikipedia article lead, CC-BY-SA.

Capacity

—

Current population

—

Occupancy

—

Year opened

1785

Operational

Figures from official sources · verified 29 May 2026 · methodology

Facility profile

Population held

Mixed/unknown

Opened

1785

Region

Gherla

Security level

—

Death-row facility

No

Conditions

No conditions summary available yet.

Visiting

No visiting information available.

Mailing

No mailing information available.

Practical info

Contact the operator's website for inmate-specific procedures.

Known issues

No major issues documented in our database.

Notable inmates

  • Kostas Passaris
    1975 · criminal
  • Andrei Ciurunga
    1920–2004 · poet
  • Ovidiu Papadima
    Ovidiu Papadima
    1909–1996 · literary critic

    Ovidiu Papadima (June 23, 1909, Sinoe, Constanța County – May 26, 1996, Bucharest) was a Romanian literary critic, folklorist, and essayist. He studied at the Alexandru Papiu Ilarian High School in Târgu Mureș, graduating at the top of his class in 1928.

  • Nicolae Steinhardt
    Nicolae Steinhardt
    1912–1989 · linguist

    Nicolae Steinhardt (Romanian pronunciation: [nikoˈla.e ˈʃtajnhart]; born Nicu-Aurelian Steinhardt; July 29, 1912 – March 30, 1989) was a Romanian writer, Orthodox monk and lawyer.

  • Gheorghe Jijie
    Gheorghe Jijie
    1919–2012 · writer
  • Richard Wurmbrand
    Richard Wurmbrand
    1909–2001 · preacher

    Richard Wurmbrand (24 March 1909 – 17 February 2001), also known as Nicolai Ionescu, was a Romanian Evangelical Lutheran priest, and professor of Jewish descent.

  • Ion Cârja
    1922–1977 · writer

    Ion Cârja (sometimes spelled Cârjă or Cârje) (March 25, 1922 – May 8, 1977) was a Romanian and American writer and anti-communist activist, who was a political prisoner in Communist Romania.

  • Dimitrie Iov
    Dimitrie Iov
    1888–1959 · writer
  • Alexandru Ivasiuc
    Alexandru Ivasiuc
    1933–1977 · writer

    Alexandru "Sașa" Ivasiuc (Romanian pronunciation: [alekˈsandru (ˈsaʃa) ivaˈsjuk]; July 12, 1933 – March 4, 1977) was a Romanian novelist.

Source: Wikidata + Wikipedia.

Contact & address

Official site

Conditions Risk Score

Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated

—
Insufficient data
We don't have enough public data on this facility to score it. Have something to add? Send us a correction.

Related facilities

All in Romania →

Same country, matched on type + security level where possible.

Data completeness

28%

How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.

Sources

Cite this page

Under CC-BY-4.0. Include the URL and access date; the site is a living reference and entries can change.

APA
World Prisons. (2026). Gherla prison. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://worldprisons.com/prisons/gherla-prison
Chicago
"Gherla prison." World Prisons. Accessed October 17, 2026. https://worldprisons.com/prisons/gherla-prison.
BibTeX
@misc{worldprisons-gherla-prison,
  author = {{World Prisons}},
  title = {Gherla prison},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://worldprisons.com/prisons/gherla-prison},
  urldate = {2026-10-17}
}