Visited in 2020
Duration of visit : 4,5 hours
Prison 1555
Before this became a prison, it used to be a medieval castle. It was constructed in the 13th century and in the 19th century it was refurbished into a prison. After an expansion, it had nearly 300 cells.
Getting inside unseen was rather sketchy. With the ‘entrance’ being in front of the police station and at a busy intersection, timing and speed were crucial and we managed to get out of sight unseen.
The prison consist of multiple floors with cells and in one of the wings we found some old cells with beds attached to the wall with chains. In some parts the roof is leaking, resulting in damaged ceilings and in a couple of rooms even little plants started growing from the ground.
The prison also has a inner courtyard, being overlooked by an old bell tower. It is said that during prison times an inmate had to climb the tower daily to wind the clock.
After having served as a prison for 130 years, the prisoners were moved to a new prison nearby and this one got abandoned. After the abandonedment, the historical building was sold several times. But with a renovation cost estimated at tens of millions of euros, none of the buyers ever started a renovation.
