Aarhus is the second-largest city in Denmark, and though many people outside of Denmark are not aware of its existence, its rich cultural heritage makes it a standout on its own.
Denmark: Midtjylland – FÆNGSLET – Horsens Prison
We had spent the night sleeping in a former cell at Horsen’s prison – one of the old cell blocks is now a hostel. It had been a surprisingly good night’s sleep, and after breakfast, we packed our bags. I retrieved the car from the car park where I’d left it overnight and we loaded it and returned it back to the car park.
Before leaving the prison, we were going to do a tour of the old prison, which is now a museum, Horsens Prison Museum, which is not only a museum but is also a conference and business facility, and a concert venue where bands such as Metallica have played.
The first area we entered was the oldest part of the prison. The building had four floors with sets of cells running down both sides of each floor. There is a central atrium that runs up through each floor to a windowed ceiling.
Between the floors, there was netting to stop people from above from throwing things down on the people below. Some of the cells were open and inside there were stories of some of the previous occupants of the prison including bent politicians and other famous criminals. They used written boards and multimedia to tell the stories in an entertaining way. The prison was also used by the Germans in World War II when Germany occupied Denmark to detain dissident Danes. The stories of these Danes were also told in one of the cells. After the war, those who collaborated with the Germans were detained here, including Werner Best who was the administrator of Denmark during the World War II occupation, whilst they worked out what to do with them.
The museum is large and very interesting. The story of the last man to be executed at Horsens Prison, and indeed Denmark, on 8th November 1892, Jens Nielson. He was only 30 years old. He died by beheading, and the axe used is on display at the museum. He had a difficult life spent in care in poor houses, which pushed him to a life of petty crime. Consequently, he spent most of his life in prison. When he was sent down for 17 years, he decided enough was enough and he wanted to be put to death, so he tried to kill prison warders on four separate occasions. On the first three occasions, he was punished with time in solitary confinement, but on the fourth where he badly injured a warder, he was given the death penalty. It was a very sad case!
The museum doesn’t just focus on the gruesome and the macabre it goes into some detail about prison life. It showed the work of the prison in educating the prisoners and the work the prisoners undertook whilst inside. A profile of each of the prison governors showed that they realised the role of prison was not just to punish but to reduce recidivism.
In the period January 1994 and until September 1997 the Nordic countries were caught up in a major war between rival biker gangs. The gangs were vicious and violent, and the war resulted in a spate of killings. They were not just using guns they had access to large bombs, grenades and anti-tank missiles. These anti-tank missiles were used to attack members of biker gangs who were in custody at police stations and prisons. The government of Denmark cracked down hard on the gangs and many were imprisoned, including in Horsens. The governor of Horsens and the governors of other prisons in Denmark decided to create dedicated units to house the gang members. In the museum, there was a big exhibit dedicated to the biker gangs, including news footage from the time, and displays of the weapons they used – including the anti-tank missiles and the gang unit itself. This unit was not too bad. It had a nice kitchen, where the prisoners had to prepare their own meals, and the cell area which contained a pool table, washing machines (they had to wash their own uniforms) and break area. If you are going to prison Denmark is not such a bad place to be!
In this gang unit area, they had set up a couple of cells with hidden contraband objects and there was a timer, so you play prison warder and see how long you took to find the objects. You could do this as a two-player game. Also, there was a cell dedicated to drugs in prison, with a huge display cabinet full of homemade pipes for smoking cannabis and crack – it was amazing to see the creativity of the prisoners in using everyday materials to make the pipes.
The last section of the tour took us out into the exercise yards and through the cell areas in the basement. These cells were used for the real bad boys and those who had just arrived and were waiting a cell assignment. Down here was also the gymnasium and a couple of washrooms you could visit. Some stairs from the basement took you up into the prison chapel. It is not surprising that many prisoners serving long sentences would find god.
The last exhibit, also in the basement was dedicated to a prisoner called Carl August Lorentzen (1896-1958). He started stealing as a boy, which he continued into adulthood. He developed a penchant for breaking into wealthy individuals and stealing jewellery and similar valuables, but he also dabbled in safe deposit thefts. Lorentzen was arrested and sentenced several times, and he spent a total of 37½ years in detention centres and prisons, including in Horsens. In 1948 he was incarcerated in the State Prison in Horsens. He started an 11-month bid for freedom. Breaking through the wall in his cell behind a bookcase in his cell he dug a tunnel using mostly a spoon and later other tools he found in the attic of the prison. The dirt he removed he carried and deposited in a space underneath the stairs. The walls of his small tunnel he lined and supported with wood he found as he broke his way through the prison. His tunnel extended an incredible 18 metres. On December 22, 1949, he broke into the potato cellar of the prison inspector and the following night he made his break for freedom. Lorentzen left a piece of paper for the prison staff, on which he had written: “Where there is a Will, there is also a Way!” – and underneath followed Lorentzen’s signature. The spectacular escape made headlines over Christmas. Lorentzen had hidden on a farm in Ølsted a little south of Horsens, but after seven days he was apprehended by the farm owner and two assistants. In the exhibit they have reconstructed Lorentzen’s tunnel and there is also a video made by the prison service with an actor reconstruction his escape. Although he was probably not a nice person, you not but admire his determination and ingenuity.
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