Antwerp prison
 Front of the prison complex at Begijnenstraat (2007) | |
 | |
| Location | 40–42 Begijnenstraat, Antwerp, Belgium |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°12′47.6″N 4°24′00.02″E / 51.213222°N 4.4000056°E |
| Status | Operational |
| Security class | Remand house |
| Opened | 1855 |
| Managed by | Federal Public Service Justice |
| Director | An Janssens[1] |
Antwerp prison (Gevangenis van Antwerpen) is a nineteenth-century prison complex located at Begijnenstraat in the port city of Antwerp, Belgium. Built in the 1850s to plans by architect Joseph Jonas Dumont as part of Édouard Ducpétiaux’s modernisation of the Belgian penal system, it remains in use as Antwerp’s principal remand facility. The star-shaped complex combines Neo-Romanesque architecture with a panopticon layout inspired by London’s Pentonville model. During the Second World War several prominent collaborators and nationalists were held and deported from the prison. Chronic overcrowding and infrastructure problems have drawn criticism in the 21st century, leading to plans for a replacement facility.
History
[edit]The present Antwerp prison was erected between 1854 and 1859 on the site of a former Capuchin sisters’ convent.[2] Dumont, who also designed the Leuven central prison, implemented Ducpétiaux’s preference for the cellular Pennsylvania system and for panoptic surveillance; his plans arranged four radial cell wings around a central observation pavilion.[2] The prison, inaugurated in 1855, served as both a remand house and place of detention.[3]
During the German invasion of Belgium in May 1940 the prison contained several Flemish nationalist and collaborationist leaders, including August Borms, René Lagrou, René Lambrichts and others. As German forces approached, the Belgian authorities evacuated these detainees from Antwerp to other prisons and camps in Belgium and France on 13 May 1940.[4] A memorial plaque at the prison entrance honours executed and political prisoners from both world wars.[5]
Modern operation
[edit]The prison complex combines Neo-Romanesque detailing with a star-shaped panopticon layout. The front consists of a three-storey rectangular block flanked by two service wings; its round-arched windows, brick cornices and octagonal entrance give the façade a Romanesque character.[5] Behind the gatehouse a barrel-vaulted gallery leads to a central observation pavilion from which four radial cell wings extend, allowing guards to monitor the corridors.[5] Each wing comprises three levels of single-occupancy cells arranged along open galleries. The design implements the cellular system promoted by Ducpétiaux and influenced by the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia and Pentonville prison in London.[2]
The Begijnenstraat prison remains Antwerp’s main remand facility and is managed by the Federal Public Service Justice.[3] It houses male detainees awaiting trial or transfer and includes a separate women’s wing and a psychiatric annex.[3] In the early 21st century the ageing complex became notorious for overcrowding and poor conditions. In March 2024 a 41-year-old detainee was tortured for several days by cellmates in an overcrowded cell; trade unions blamed the incident on understaffing and cells housing six men despite being designed for three.[6] Statistics released in June 2024 showed Belgium had 115 prisoners for every 100 places and highlighted the Antwerp torture case in debates on prison reform.[7] An investigation by New Lines Magazine reported that the prison required about 500 staff but had some sixty vacancies, contributing to dangerous conditions.[8]
Because the nineteenth-century prison is considered inadequate for modern detention policy and suffers from overcrowding, the Belgian building authority (Régie des Bâtiments) and Justice ministry have commissioned a new prison at the Blue Gate site in the south of Antwerp. The project, launched in 2023 as a public–private partnership known as “Hortus Conclusus”, will provide space for approximately 440 detainees: 330 male prisoners, 66 female prisoners and 44 places in a medical and psychiatric unit.[9] Construction began in 2023 and the facility is scheduled to open in spring 2026.[10]
References
[edit]- ^ "Prison d'Anvers" (in French). Federal Public Service Justice.
Le complexe d'Anvers de la Begijnenstraat, mis en service en 1855, est une maison d'arrêt rénovée dotée d'une section pour femmes et d'une annexe psychiatrique. Il est dirigé par An Janssens.
- ^ a b c "Gevangenis van Antwerpen" (in Dutch). Onroerend Erfgoed.
Het arresthuis verrees van 1854 tot 1859 op de vroegere kloostergrond van de Kapucinessen. Architect Joseph Jonas Dumont tekende de plannen en het gebouw maakt deel uit van de gevangenishervormingen onder Edouard Ducpétiaux. Het ontwerp volgde het zogenaamde cellulaire stelsel en de Amerikaanse Pennsylvania-richting, geïnspireerd op de pentagonale Pentonville-gevangenis in Londen.
- ^ a b c "Prison d'Anvers" (in French). Federal Public Service Justice.
Le complexe d'Anvers fonctionne comme maison d'arrêt et dispose également d'une section pour femmes et d'une annexe psychiatrique. Mis en service en 1855, il a été rénové à plusieurs reprises.
- ^ "13 mei 1940: Vlaamse collaboranten worden naar Leuven en Abbeville gebracht" (in Dutch). Antwerp Commemorates.
Op 13 mei 1940 worden August Borms, René Lagrou, René Lambrichts en andere bekende collaborateurs overgebracht uit de Antwerpse gevangenis in de Begijnenstraat naar Leuven en vervolgens naar Abbeville.
- ^ a b c "Gevangenis van Antwerpen" (in Dutch). Onroerend Erfgoed.
Aan de ingang herinnert een gedenkplaat aan de terechtgestelden en politieke gevangenen uit beide wereldoorlogen.
- ^ "Overcrowding blamed after inmate tortured in Antwerp prison". Belga News Agency. 13 March 2024.
Unions said the man, held in a cell designed for three, was tortured by five cellmates over several days while guards were overwhelmed by overcrowding and understaffing.
- ^ "Belgian prisons suffer serious overcrowding". Belga News Agency. 6 June 2024.
- ^ Peeters, Hannelore (30 July 2025). "Belgium's Broken Prisons". New Lines Magazine.
At the Begijnenstraat prison the ACOD union said around 500 guards are needed, but 60 positions are vacant, leaving cells built for three men with as many as six inmates. In March 2024 a 41-year-old man was scalded and beaten by fellow prisoners while guards failed to intervene.
- ^ "New prison at Blue Gate will replace outdated Begijnenstraat complex". Régie des Bâtiments. 6 October 2023.
L'ancienne prison d'Anvers datée de 1855 n'est plus adaptée à la politique de détention actuelle. Le nouveau complexe, situé près du site Blue Gate et baptisé "Hortus Conclusus", offrira 440 places : 330 pour des hommes, 66 pour des femmes et un centre médico-psychiatrique de 44 places.
- ^ "Construction starts on new Antwerp prison". Jan De Nul Group. 6 October 2023.
The new prison at Blue Gate will be delivered in spring 2026. It will offer units for 330 male prisoners, 66 female prisoners and 44 persons in a medical unit, replacing the overcrowded Begijnenstraat prison.