Botsfengselet

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Botsfengselet , original spelling: Bodsfængslet or also known as "Bodsen" or Botsen in Norwegian vernacular, is a former prison in the Norwegian capital Oslo in the Grønland district at Åkebergløkka, Grønlandsleiret 41. The historic prison building later became part of the Oslo State Prison .

history

The main way to the old Botsfengslet.
The Botsfengslet seen from the Grønland Park - Botspark path in winter.
The main entrance of the old Botsfengslet.

The prison was built from 1844 to 1851 according to the designs of the German-Norwegian architect Heinrich Ernst Schirmer and first opened in 1851. The prison church located on the site was built in 1887 by the architect Jacob Wilhelm Nordan and the prison originally had two wings, and around 1884 a further side wing was added. The Botsfengselet was the first Norwegian prison to be organized according to the so-called "Philadelphia System". This meant that all prisoners were strictly isolated in order to better shield them from possible negative influences of other inmates, or to protect even more serious criminals, which one hoped for better chances of rehabilitation in prison. There was then the possibility of reducing the sentence by a third of the prison term. The construction of the prison at that time was decided as a result of the Norwegian Criminal Law Commission in 1837, where further new Norwegian criminal laws were passed as a modern replacement for the outdated criminal law from the time of Christian V. The commission also suggested the construction of seven other similar prisons across the country, with a total of 2,100 places. For financial reasons, however, the plan could not be fully implemented and only the Botsfengselet was built in Oslo. The prison was expanded again in the 1900s and reached a capacity for a maximum of 223 inmates. In 1934 a fourth wing was added as an extension. The Botsfengselet was finally closed as a penal institution in 1970 and the prisoners were transferred to the Ullersmo prison ( Ullersmo fengsel ) in the municipality of Ullensaker in the Akershus district . The former prison became part of the Oslo District Prison in 1975, after the completion of corresponding extensions at the Botsfengselet site and the completion of the renovation work, which became today's Oslo State Prison. The historical prison building of the Botsfengselet has been a listed building since that time. The Botsfengselet now belongs to Section A, “Botsen” of the current Oslo prison. Around the Botsfengselet is the Grønland Park or Bots Park (Grønlands park - Botsparken).

Botsfengselet in the film

  • The Botsfengselet was also often used as a film set, especially in Norwegian adaptations of the Olsen Gang, it achieved greater popularity in Norway. The Norwegian Egon Olsen played by Arve Opsahl from the new films of the Olsen Gang had his second home here in Botsfengselet and always walked the way from the main entrance of the prison when he was released. The avenue in front of the prison in Oslo's Grønland district was named after the main character of the Olsen gang Egon Olsen on April 28, 2017 in Egon Olsen allé , at the suggestion of the Progress Party politician Peter N. Myhre

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Arstal, Aksel; Just, Carl, ed. (1938 and 1966) "Botsfengslet" (in Norwegian). Oslo byleksikon (2nd edition.), Oslo: Aschehoug
  2. ↑ Godal, Anne Marit, ed. " Botsfengslet " (in Norwegian) in the store Norske Leksikon , Norsk nettleksikon. Retrieved April 18, 2012
  3. ↑ Nå er det bestemt: Her er Egon Olsens allé. In: nrk.no. NRK , April 28, 2017, accessed May 21, 2017 (Norwegian).

Coordinates: 59 ° 54 ′ 34 ″  N , 10 ° 46 ′ 18 ″  E