Modern prisons don’t usually serve as tourist attractions, but Denmark’s Horsens State Prison, which closed in 2006, should probably be on your list. It’s now home to the Horsens Prison Museum, one of the largest prison museums in the world. (The facility also houses a concert venue, in case you need a side of Metallica with your crime-related history.)
If you can’t make it to Denmark, Expedia created an interactive tour to let you roam the museum virtually. Based on Google Street View, the virtual experience includes descriptions of important features embedded into the photos. It’s a good way to experience the difference between Scandinavian and American criminal justice.
Though the museum labels do describe historical punishments like solitary confinement (considered a form of torture by many experts, but still in use in the United States), the walls of the prison are a bright lime green, the lounges have flatscreen televisions, and the modern cells include desks and large windows. Some portions of the prison look more like a hostel, while others look like the typical multi-story penitentiaries you’d see in movies like 1994’s The Shawshank Redemption.
It’s pretty easy to get lost while trying to wander the virtual halls, but if you click around long enough, you’re sure to end up somewhere interesting. Or you’ll get stuck in the gift shop.
January 20, 2017 – 8:30am