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Vietnam · Hanoi

Hỏa Lò Prison

PrisonClosed 1994Stub
Verified 27 Jun 2026
Fresh · 4d ago

Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date.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.

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How to send mail, money, and visit Hỏa Lò Prison

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

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Photograph of Hỏa Lò Prison

Gallery

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

  • 03687-Hanoi (32791895705).jpg

    Photo by xiquinhosilva via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

  • 03688-Hanoi (32791890785).jpg

    Photo by xiquinhosilva via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

  • 03690-Hanoi (32411713580).jpg

    Photo by xiquinhosilva via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

  • 03692-Hanoi (32751489966).jpg

    Photo by xiquinhosilva via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

  • 03695-Hanoi (32751493016).jpg

    Photo by xiquinhosilva via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

  • 03730-Hanoi (32638585692).jpg

    Photo by xiquinhosilva via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

  • 03731-Hanoi (32638587812).jpg

    Photo by xiquinhosilva via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

  • 03739-Hanoi (31948788874).jpg

    Photo by xiquinhosilva via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

"Hanoi Hilton" redirects here. For the 1987 film, see [The Hanoi Hilton (film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hanoi_Hilton_(film) "The Hanoi Hilton (film)"). For the hotel operated by the Hilton International Corporation, see [Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilton_Hanoi_Opera_Hotel "Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel"). The name Hỏa Lò, commonly translated as "fiery furnace" or even "Hell's hole",[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%E1%BB%8Fa_L%C3%B2_Prison#cite_note-logan-1) also means "stove". The name originated from the street name phố Hỏa Lò, due to the concentration of stores selling wood stoves and coal-fire stoves along the street in pre-colonial times. The prison was built in [Hanoi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanoi "Hanoi") by the French between 1896 and

Capacity

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Current population

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Occupancy

—

Year opened

1896

Closed 1994

Facility profile

Operator

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Population held

Mixed/unknown

Opened

1896

Region

Hanoi

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

  • Hoàng Văn Thụ
    1909–1944 · revolutionary
  • Nguyễn Đức Cảnh
    Nguyễn Đức Cảnh
    1908–1932 · political activist
  • John McCain
    John McCain
    1936–2018 · politician

    John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and naval officer who represented Arizona in the United States Congress for over 35 years, first as a U.S.

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.

Data completeness

36%

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

Sources