Horsens Prison

Horsens State Prison (Fængslet) is a former state prison in Horsens that today ranks among Denmark's most atmospheric museum experiences. Commissioned in 1853, it held prisoners serving long sentences until it closed in 2006, when the last inmates were moved to the new State Prison of East Jutland. Since then the imposing complex has been reborn as a crime and prison museum, and following expansions in 2016 it is described as the largest prison museum in the world. Behind the high walls you can walk the cell wings and workshops where inmates once spent their days and learn the stories of the prison's most notorious residents. Among them was Carl August Lorentzen, who in 1949 escaped through a 20-metre tunnel he began digging with a spoon; the embezzler-politician Peter Adler Alberti; and Jens Nielsen, the last person executed in Danish peacetime, whose story and even the execution axe are on display. The site is also a lively venue beyond the museum, hosting conferences and concerts by international bands such as Metallica. For visitors it offers a memorable few hours, including escape-room experiences set in real cells. Adult admission is 165 DKK and children 85 DKK, and it is open through the middle of the day; allow around two and a half hours to take it all in.