Abandoned prisons in Spain

We can find many abandoned prisons in Spain. At the end of the XNUMXth century, a modernization of penitentiary facilities in our country was undertaken with the construction of several modern prisons. As a consequence, the vast majority of existing ones remained empty.

However, some of them are much earlier, specifically the Medieval. Likewise, others have been enabled for new functions. In any case, all of them today are part of a kind of prison tourism that began many years ago in the Alcatraz prison de San Francisco (USA). Next, we are going to show you some of the most impressive abandoned prisons in Spain.

Pedraza Prison

Located in this town in the province of Segovia, belongs precisely to those medieval prisons that have remained standing. In this case, the building that housed it is a beautiful monument that was built in the XNUMXth century as wall watchtower.

In reality, it cannot be said that it is abandoned, but rather that it has lost its penitentiary function. Because you can visit it and discover how hard life was for the inmates. The commoners lived overcrowded in two cells of just nine square meters each. Even worse were the conditions of those convicted of serious crimes. They were thrown through a trap door to even more unsanitary lower rooms.

As for the preventives, during the day they could move, but when night came, they were held in stocks and shackles for the safety of the jailer, who lived there. If you visit it, you will also be able to see a small museum which narrates everything we just told you.

Barcelona Model Prison

Until its closure a few years ago, it was an active prison oldest in Catalonia, since it had been open since 1904. It occupies two blocks of Barcelona's Ensanche, between Entenza, Rosellón, Provenza and Nicaragua streets. The architects in charge of designing it were Salvador Vinyals y Josep Domènech, who were inspired by the principles established by Jeremy bentham for prisons at the end of the XNUMXth century.

According to them, it has a radial plan with six large naves that converge in a central body covered with a dome. In this was the surveillance center (the panoptic that Bentham proposed). In addition, the prison had several annex buildings dedicated to kitchens, warehouses, infirmary and other functions, as well as patios and gardens.

Zamora, one of the most popular among the abandoned prisons in Spain

We now arrive at the old Zamora prison and we tell you that it is one of the most popular among the abandoned prisons in Spain because a very famous film awarded with eight Goyas was filmed there. Is about Quick 211Directed by Daniel Monzon and interpreted by Luis Tosar, Alberto Amman, Marta Etura and Antonio Resines, among other actors. As you will remember, it narrated, precisely, a brutal prison riot.

It was closed twenty-one years ago and is located on the road Almaraz de Duero. It housed dangerous terrorists from ETA and GRAPO, but also many priests convicted for union and political reasons. Among them were the writers Xabier Amuriza y Lluis María Xirinacs. The first of them is a famous versolari (verse improviser) and revitalizer of the Basque language. For his part, the second was a relevant philosopher who became a senator in the Transition.

San Cristobal Fort

Also called fort of Alfonso XII, is located on Mount Ezkaba or San Cristóbal, which gives it its name. It belongs to the municipality of Antsoain, near Pamplona. Precisely, due to its location, it dominates the region of the Navarrese capital to the north and from above.

It was built at the end of the XNUMXth century during the reign of Alfonso XII, as indicated by the inscription that you can see on its access cover. Its original function was as a defensive fortress, it was not converted into a prison until 1934 and remained as such for only seven years.

Already in 1941 it was destined to tuberculosis sanatorium. This was a disease that was decimating the population at that time and it was believed that high spaces relieved patients' breathing difficulties. Hence its new function. Later, he had others. In fact, it was used as a munitions depot until 1987, although it was kept under surveillance until 1991 when it was finally abandoned.

Its designer was the colonel of the Corps of Engineers Michael Ortega, who designed a polygonal fortress and, for its construction, part of the top of the mountain had to be blown up. In this way, several floors remain within the mountain. Likewise, it is surrounded by a moat and occupies a plot of more than six hundred thousand square meters, of which one hundred and eighty thousand are built.

Interestingly, It was never used as a fortress. The emergence of modern weapons such as long-range cannons or aviation made it obsolete as a military building.

Broto Prison

We return to the end of the Middle Ages to tell you about another of the most curious abandoned prisons in Spain. It is located in the small Huesca town of Broto and served as a prison for prisoners from all over the valley. You will find it next to the Gothic bridge over the river Ara.

In fact, it was built in the XNUMXth century at the same time as this one and to contribute to its defense. Likewise, next to it you will find the Valley House, which was where justice was administered for the entire Broto area.

In reality, it is a tower with a quadrangular floor plan and strong walls with loopholes and a window. It has three floors and is accessed through the middle, from the aforementioned Casa del Valle. The upper one is reached through a narrow staircase. For its part, in the lower one there are two narrow rooms that served as cells for those convicted of more serious crimes.

If you visit this tower you will be impressed numerous engravings on its walls which were made by the same prisoners between the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries. These are some messages, but, above all, drawings that represent the most diverse themes. There are religious and geometric ones, but there are also many that recreate animals and trees. The engravings have undergone a restoration process due to their ethnographic importance. They provide a lot of information about the Pyrenean society of past centuries.

Old prison of Alcalá de Guadaira

It is known by this name because it functioned as a prison from 1850 until the seventies of the last century. But it is one of the buildings with the most history in the Sevillian town. It is a XNUMXth century construction that, until the XNUMXth, functioned as a blood hospital for women. And this information is very important because it is one of the few vestiges that remain of them in the province of Seville, where there were more than one hundred.

But the values ​​of this building do not end there, which is located on Sánchez Perrier Street, behind the beautiful church of santiago el mayor. It was probably built using an old mudejar house and a canvas of the Wall belonging to the magnificent castle of the town. For all this, the authorities of Alcalá de Guadaira are considering excavating its interior and then proceeding to its rehabilitation.

Prisons that have been used for other functions

To finish our article on abandoned prisons in Spain, we will talk to you about other prisons that no longer function as such, but continue to have different uses. A good example of this is the old Palencia prison, which is currently Cultural center. It is a beautiful building neomudejar from the XNUMXth century that stands out for its red bricks. After being restored, it houses the Municipal Library with three study rooms and another dedicated to children, as well as an auditorium with capacity for one hundred and thirty-nine people.

An even more singular case is that of the city of Segovia, because it has two old prisons that now have another use. The primitive royal jail, located on Juan Bravo Street, is now the Municipal Library. We advise you to visit it because it is a beautiful classicist building. As an anecdote, we will tell you that the great writing was imprisoned there Lope de Vega.

For its part, the old provincial prison of Segovia It is today a multidisciplinary center of artistic creation. Its construction began in 1891, although it was not inaugurated until 1924 as a women's prison. Architecturally, it stands out for its large central tower and other smaller ones at the ends of some naves, but also for the robustness of the construction, equipped with wide and solid walls.

As in the previous case that we explained to you about Zamora, the old Segovia prison has served as film and television set. Scenes from movies such as the man of the thousand faces and series like The Embassy y Remember when, in addition to numerous advertisements, documentaries and even music videos. In fact, it houses the headquarters of the Segovian Film Office, which you should go to if you want to visit it.

In conclusion, we have shown you some of the most impressive abandoned prisons in Spain. But we could mention others like San Cristobal, in Gran Canaria; that of Santa Ana, in La Coruña, or that of Can Brians, in Barcelona. Go ahead and meet them, they will impact you.