Saint-Michel Prison, Toulouse - Secrets of 19th Century Prison Used by Nazi Gestapo & Vichy France

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Saint-Michel prison was built between 1862-1869 under the reign of Napoleon III and as a result of the Franco-Prussian War which broke in 1870, was first used as a hospital. Its gateway is designed as a medieval fortress with four towers, locally called "Castelet". The architectural design of the prison itself is in Philadelphian-Pennsylvanian style and its 19th century Gothic Revival.

Public executions by guillotine took place in front of this entrance until 1923, after which they moved into the courtyard of the fortress. Between 1942-1944 the Germans and the Vichy state imprisoned and executed members of the Resistance in Saint-Michel. When Toulouse was liberated on 19 August 1944, relatives of members of the Resistance broke into the prison.

On January 2003 the prison was finally closed and is in the process of being transformed into a center of cultural heritage.

Attribution:

Beyond These Walls by Scott Buckley |   / scottbuckley  
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