252 Items Tagged

Prisons

Thanks to its years as a penal colony, Islas Marías has beautifully untouched reef systems.

Mexico’s Newest Nature Reserve Will Be a Former Prison

Octavio Aburto and other Mexican ecologists want to preserve the pristine reefs of the Isla Marías penal colony.

Sabrina Imbler May 3, 2019

"The Cell Door," by Nelson Mandela.

Nelson Mandela's Prison Cell, Through His Eyes

The drawing is one of more than 20 original artworks by the Nobel Peace Prize recipient.

Matthew Taub April 22, 2019

D Block.

Petros, Tennessee

Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary

This former maximum-security prison is creepy, sobering, and supposedly haunted.

The historic plaque and one of the windows.

Clifton, Arizona

Clifton Cliff Jail

This Old West prison built into the side of a cliff was said to be inescapable.

Balcony under the red star.

Dolinka, Kazakhstan

KarLag Memorial Museum

A sober museum housed in the original administrative building of one of Stalin's largest gulags.

Johnny Cash rises 15 stories over a drinking establishment.

Sacramento, California

Johnny Cash Mural

This 15-story mural celebrates the 50th anniversary of the musician's iconic "At Folsom Prison" album.

Some of the POWs at Stalag Luft III, from Vivian Phillips's journal.

For Sale: A POW Journal Documenting World War II's 'Great Escape'

A look inside the mind of a legendary plot.

Matthew Taub March 11, 2019

Mbala Old Prison

Mbala Old Prison

This old brick building has held everyone from prisoners of war to freedom fighters during its turbulent history.

The Tower of Joan of Arc rising over Rouen.

Tower of Joan of Arc

This medieval tower is all that remains of the castle where Joan of Arc was held before being burned at the stake.

Confinement cell.

Vilnius, Lithuania

Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights

This former KGB building is now a museum memorializing the people who suffered during the Soviet regime.

Doftana Penitentiary.

Telega, Romania

Doftana Penitentiary

This enormous abandoned prison was once dubbed the "Bastille of Romania."

Santo Stefano prison.

Ventotene, Italy

Santo Stefano Prison

Built to be the ideal penitentiary, this abandoned panopticon saw several revolts and even a prisoners' coup.

Interned Italians enter Fort Missoula in 1941.

When the U.S. Interned Italians in Montana, They Rioted Over Olive Oil

For the "enemy aliens" held at Fort Missoula, suet was an insult.

Reina Gattuso February 1, 2019

Colditz Castle

Colditz, Germany

Colditz Castle

An officers prison camp believed to be impregnable by the Germans saw over 30 successful escapes.

The pole.

Leiden, Netherlands

Gravensteen's Whipping Pole

A relic of the old jail still stands in its original location.

Z Ward.

Glenside, Australia

Z Ward

A perfectly preserved abandoned criminal asylum in South Australia.

The execution ax and block.

London, England

The Executioner's Ax

Tucked away in the Tower of London is the weapon once used to execute high-profile prisoners.

The marker.

London, England

Tyburn Tree Marker

Never actually a tree at all, this spot was the site of London's public hangings for nearly 600 years.