Vestre Prison ( da, Vestre Fængsel) is the main

jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

of the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

capital,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. Erected in 1895, it is Denmark's largest prison with a total capacity of 530 inmates. It primarily houses

pretrial detainee Remand, also known as pre-trial detention, preventive detention, or provisional detention, is the process of detaining a person until their trial after they have been arrested and charged with an offence. A person who is on remand is held i ...

s, not convicted felons.

History

Vestre Fængsel opened in 1895. The building was designed by city architect

Ludvig Fenger Ludvig Peter Fenger (7 July 1833 – 9 March 1905) was a Danish architect. He was a proponent of the Historicist style, and from 1886 to 1904 he held the title of City Architect in Copenhagen. Among his works are several churches, the Centra ...

. During much of the German

occupation of Denmark At the outset of World War II in September 1939, Denmark declared itself neutral. For most of the war, the country was a protectorate and then an occupied territory of Germany. The decision to occupy Denmark was taken in Berlin on 17 December ...

, Vestre Fængsel was operated by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

police.

Cultural references

* Vestre Prison is used as location in the films ''

De røde enge ''The Red Meadows'' ( da, De røde enge) is a 1945 Danish war drama directed by Bodil Ipsen and Lau Lauritzen Jr. based on resistance fighter Ole Valdemar Juul's 1945 novel of the same name. The film, starring Poul Reichhardt and Lisbeth Movin, ...

'' (1945), ''

Mosekongen ''Mosekongen'' is a 1950 Danish family film directed by Jon Iversen and Alice O'Fredericks. Cast * Johannes Meyer as Claus Munk *Poul Reichhardt as Jørgen Munk *Tove Maës as Hanne *Peter Malberg as Sofus 'Fusser' Hansen * Grete Frische as No ...

'' (1950), '' I kongens klær'' (1954), '' Den forsvundne fuldmægtig'' (1971), ''

Mig og Mafiaen ''Me and the Mafia'' ( da, Mig og Mafiaen) is a 1973 Danish comedy film directed by Henning Ørnbak and starring Dirch Passer. Plot The film follows the con man Victor Hansen, who has made a fortune together with his partner Rikard. Rikard has ...

'' (1973), ''

Olsen-banden går amok ''The Olsen Gang Goes Crazy'' ( da, Olsen-banden går amok) is a 1973 Danish comedy film directed by Erik Balling and starring Ove Sprogøe. This was the fifth film in the Olsen Gang-series. For the first time Axel Strøbye appeared as kriminala ...

'' (1973), '' Krummerne 3 - Fars gode idé'' (1994), ''

Anklaget ''Accused'' ( da, Anklaget) is a 2005 Danish drama film, directed by Jacob Thuesen. It is about a couple, Henrik and Nina Christofferson whose happiness was shattered when their 14-year-old daughter Stine accused her father of molesting her. The ...

'' (2005) and '' Winnie og Karina går til filmen'' (2009). * Vestre Prison is used as a location at 1:20:23 in the 1974 ''

Olsen-banden The ''Olsen Gang'' ( da, Olsen-banden, no, Olsenbanden, german: Die Olsenbande) is a Danish comedy film series created by Danish director Erik Balling and special effects expert Henning Bahs about the eponymous fictional criminal gang. The gang's ...

'' film ''

The Last Exploits of the Olsen Gang ''The Last Exploits of the Olsen Gang'' ( da, Olsen-bandens sidste bedrifter) is a 1974 Danish comedy film directed by Erik Balling and starring Ove Sprogøe, Morten Grunwald, Poul Bundgaard and Kirsten Walther. This was the sixth film in the Ol ...

''. * ''Vestre Fængsel'' is the title of a 1996 adaption by Finn &

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...

of a John Phillips song. * In his 2015 breakthrough single ''Tyveri'', Hasan Shah sings "Hvis jeg havner i Vestre Fængsel..." (English: If I end up in Vestre Fængsel..."). * French author

Louis-Ferdinand Céline Louis Ferdinand Auguste Destouches (27 May 1894 – 1 July 1961), better known by the pen name Louis-Ferdinand Céline ( , ) was a French novelist, polemicist and physician. His first novel ''Journey to the End of the Night'' (1932) won the ''Pri ...

spent more than one year at Vestre starting in 1946 and tell of his ordeal in book 1 of '' Féerie pour une autre fois ''.

References

External links

Official website of the Copenhagen jails
Prisons in Denmark Kongens Enghave Ludvig Fenger buildings Government buildings completed in 1895 {{Prison-stub