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In Spain, as in many other countries in the world, penitentiaries were innovative buildings, symbols of demands or temporary housing for illustrious prisoners.
Today, many of them no longer exist and, if they do, they have greatly changed their function.
We delve into the history of four of them: La Modelo de Barcelona, La Modelo de Madrid, Carabanchel and the Women's Prison of Ventas.
In the heart of Barcelona stands La Modelo, one of the most important prisons in Spain. It was built between 1881 and 1904 and a large number of political dissidents were imprisoned there. On June 8, 2017, one day before its 113th anniversary, the prison was finally closed.
At the time, this center premiered an innovative architectural design in the form of a panopticon: starting from a central polygonal body - where the guards were located - six galleries with some 600 cells where the prisoners were housed were radially arranged. This structure allowed for an exceptional surveillance and control system.
Today it can be visited and there is a project underway to convert it into an area of social housing, a large urban park and spaces such as a Memorial, an institute, a residence and a sports pavilion, among others.
It is also one of the most popular prisons today thanks to the award-winning film Model 77.
Formerly, what is now the Air Force Headquarters was the Model Prison of Madrid. It began to be built in 1877 and was inaugurated in 1883 by the Minister of the Interior.
The construction of this jail was motivated to replace the already obsolete Saladero jail, located in the Plaza de Santa Barbara.
The Model was built on a site in the shape of a six-sided irregular polygon following the panopticon model that was widespread at the end of the 18th century, which allowed a single guard to observe hundreds or thousands of prisoners from a central point without them knowing that they were being watched.
Like many others, it has guarded illustrious prisoners. One of them was the anarchist Leon Trotski .
La Modelo was severely damaged during the Civil War, at the end of which it was demolished. In its place, Luis Gutiérrez Soto built the former Air Ministry, today the Air General Headquarters, and its function would be fulfilled by the Carabanchel prison.
Madrid's most famous prison was in operation from 1944 until its closure in 1998. It was designed to hold 1,000 inmates, but at its peak it housed more than 7,000, making it one of the most overcrowded prisons in Europe.
During its time in operation, the Carabanchel prison became one of the most notorious and feared prisons in Spain, due to the extremely harsh conditions that were experienced there. Its facilities housed political prisoners, common criminals, terrorists and mentally ill inmates.
In 1998, the government decided to close the prison due to its poor conditions. As early as 2008, a demolition process began and was completed in 2010. In its place was built a public park, the Parque de la Cuña Verde de Latina, which opened to the public in 2011. Currently, no structure of the former prison remains on the site where it was located.
The women's prison of Ventas was a prison built in 1933 and closed in 1969.
During the Civil War, it was used to imprison and torture women suspected of links to the Republican side. It is estimated that during the war more than 4,000 women passed through the Ventas prison, many of whom were executed.
After the war, living conditions were very harsh and finally, in 1969, it was closed due to criticism of the poor conditions of the inmates.
Today, no structure of the old Ventas prison remains on the site where it once stood. In its place a secondary school was built and a monument has been erected in memory of the women who were imprisoned and executed in the prison during the Civil War.
Spanish prisons have had a long and complex history, but nowadays they have improved in many aspects, implementing measures to improve living conditions, taking steps towards a fairer and more inclusive society.
From Impais we contribute to the advancement and modernization of the Spanish prison system, participating in projects such as the Soto del Real, Valdemoro or Albacete prisons.
