The filming of the Netflix drama Stranger Things started at the Lukiškės prison in central Vilnius on Friday.

"The contract has been signed and the shooting starts today and will take place over the weekend," Justice Minister Elvinas Jankevičius told BNS.



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Lukiškės prison closed in July last year after more than a century in operation. The facilities were used by the German and Russian Empires, the Nazis and the Soviets, inter-war Lithuanian government, as well as present-day Lithuania.



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Preparations to shoot the fourth season of the popular Netflix series have taken place since early January. Rumours that the series will be filmed in Vilnius first surfaced in December last year.

Vilnius Film Office and the Justice Ministry note that the prison, closed last year, has been attracting attention of major foreign film companies.



Lithuania currently offers tax exemptions for film production, which helped attract several high-profile productions, including HBO's Chernobyl and Netflix's Young Wallander.



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