iSurprise Kalisosok Prison

Notorious past

This prison from the colonial days is known by the Surabaya people as a haunted place, one of the most notorious prisons in Indonesia and a silent witness to various historical intrigues involving criminals, freedom fighters and the colonial government.

Kalisosok was built in 1808 by the Dutch to detain people who rebelled against colonial rule, the conditions at the ‘Werfstraatgevangenis’ were appalling: a 5x7 m cell would hold as many as 20 people.

During the Japanese occupation (1942-44) British and American and Dutch were detained here and in the 1960s and 1970s it was used for political prisoners among which the country’s first president Soekarno. It is said that the souls of its previous residents are still trapped within the old walls of this prison and they still wander around...

Surabaya stories

The major attraction of the abandoned compound is no longer the prison itself but the murals on the outer walls depicting the historic events of the Surabaya battle.