As Hungary was infamous for brutality during both the Nazi and Soviet regimes, it’s no surprise that Budapest is home to a museum dedicated to the memory of those tortured and killed in one particular building.

In 2000, the ˝The Public Foundation for the Research of Central and East European History and Society˝ purchased what is now called the “Terror House” with the aim of building a museum that would recreate the conditions victims of political brutality faced for decades in Hungary. As the building was used for offices for decades, architects János Sándor and Kálmán Újszászy chose to restore the building back to its original gloominess, and to complete the multi-sensory feel of the space, composer Ákos Kovács created a morose background score.

The four floors of the Terror House each offer permanent as well as temporary exhibitions of photographs, historical mementos and video all shedding some light on what these dark periods held in store for those unlucky enough to enter through its doors.