These Former Prisons Are Open to the Public and Hold Amazing History

Photo by Eric Ward on Unsplash

Old prisons may not seem like a luxury destination, but they might be worth a visit. They have stories that not many people have heard, say a lot about the country they are in and represent a huge part of human history.

There are a lot of prisons all around the world, but some of them are quite special because of their location while others because of the people that lived between their walls.

Here are a few prisons that are worth visiting:

Robben Island, South Africa

Besides being a maximum-security prison for political prisoners, this UNESCO World Heritage site has also been a leper hospital and a military base.

Nelson Mandela has served 18 years on this island. There’s also a colony of endangered African penguins living there at the moment.

Alcatraz, Unites States

Also known as the rock, this prison has held Al “Scarface” Capone and Machine Gun Kelly.

Only three people have escaped this place: John Anglin, Clarence Anglin, and Frank Morris, but no one knows what happened to them after they’ve escaped.

Devil’s Island, French Guiana

Constructed in the 1850s by the order of Napoleon III, this prison has been home to a thousand of criminals and political prisoners who were building roads and cell blocks while serving their time at the Devil’s Island.    

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Devil’s Island was a French prison colony for more than 100 years, opening in 1852 and closing in 1953. It was well known for its harsh and brutal treatment of prisoners. Almost no one sent here ever returned to France. The prison had a death rate of over 70% and approximately 80,000 prisoners died here. The book and movie Papillion is about prison life at Devils Island and Henri Charriere’s escape from the island. The French also sent political prisoners here, the most famous of whom was Captain Henry Dreyfus, wrongfully imprisoned for treason. He was pardoned after spending several years at Devil’s Island. When prisoners misbehaved, they were sent to solitary confinement on St. Joseph island where they spent 30 days chained to a bed in a completely dark cell and given only dry bread and water. It was a brutal place. The islands are now a tourist destination. French Guiana is an overseas territory of France. Most of the territory is covered in original rainforests with a small population of about 280,000 living near the coast. The European Space agency launches all of its rockets at the Guiana Space Center on the mainland is not far from where we are anchored. On the sail up from Brazil, we crossed the equator into the northern hemisphere. We have been sailing in the southern hemisphere for more than a year. #Cayuse #Outremer51 #devilsisland #frenchguiana #papillion #interestinganchorage #sailingaroundtheworld #almostdone #changesinlattitude

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