Last week we previewed four of the world’s most storied prisons that you can visit, and couldn’t help but continue the (very popular) list! Walk in the shoes of former inmates at these open-to-the-public prisons:
Colditz Castle – Colditz (Germany)
A castle has stood on this spot for nearly a thousand years. Much of its current incarnation is just shy of 500 years old. When the Nazis came to power, they turned the castle from a sanatorium for the wealthy and nobility of Germany into a political prison. After the outbreak of war in 1939, the castle evolved into a high security prisoner-of-war camp for Allied officers considered as dangerous, an escape risk, or both. Putting such a collection of young men in one place didn’t turn out to be a great idea – a relatively high percentage of the many escape attempts were successful.
Devil’s Island – Îles du Salat (French Guiana)
Between 1884 and 1946, an estimated 56,000 prisoners were sent to this lush tropical island off the coast of French Guiana. They say only a quarter of them never left – in part because it was first used as a camp for prisoners with leprosy. Completely isolated, Devil’s Island was the very definition of a penal colony. Escapes were rarely successful on account of the strong currents and shark infested waters that surround it. One of its very few escapees, Henri Charrière earned international notoriety through his memoir Papillon. Steve McQueen played Charrière in the atmospheric 1973 Hollywood adaptation. Sadly the buildings haven’t endured as well the stories.
Elmina Castle – Elmina (Ghana)
This castle was built by the Portuguese in 1482 as a trading post to protect its burgeoning colonial operations in what is now Ghana. Elmina is thought to the oldest European building in existence in Sub-Saharan Africa. While ownership switched hands to the Dutch in 1637, its purpose didn’t – it remained one of the key ‘depots’ in the Atlantic slave trade. On the Gulf of Guinea side stands an infamous opening known as the “Door of No Return” through which African slaves were loaded onto ships before being transported to European colonies in the New World.
West Virginia Penitentiary – Moundsville (USA)
For 129 years, some of America’s most dangerous and violent men were kept within the imposing Gothic walls of this 1876 prison. Nearly 100 of them were put to their deaths. In 1986, three inmates were slaughtered during a two-day riot sparked by overcrowding and disease-festering conditions.
Written by insider city guide series Hg2 | A Hedonist’s guide to…
(Image: gravitat-OFF)
