🏨 Helsinki County Prison

The Helsinki County Prison in the Helsinki city quarters of Katajanokka was a prison that operated from 1837 to 2002. It was established in 1837 by Tsar Nikolai I by the side of the Helsinki Crown Prison, which had operated from 1749. When completed, the prison had 12 cells, two rooms for guards and a worship room which is still extant and has been used for church weddings. The prison area was surrounded by a high red brick wall. The prison was extended in 1888 with the construction of a cell block in the form of a cross, in the classical Philadelphia model; the old part of the prison was converted to an administrative building.