After the war Bautzen was well known in the German Democratic Republic because of its prison. Bautzen I was used as an official prison, Bautzen II was a secret prison for prisoners of conscience (people arrested for their political beliefs, not because of an ordinary crime). Bautzen I is still used as a prison, and Bautzen II has been a memorial since 1993.
In 2002 the city commemorated its thousandth birthday.