The prison era of the island began in 1724, when Malmgården Alstavik was converted into a spinning mill, where women guilty of “promiscuous behavior and a dissolute lifestyle” were placed. In the 1840s, Kronohäktet was built, which served both as a prison and a place of preliminary detention.

The solitary cells of the women’s correctional colony were transformed into cozy single rooms in the very center of the Swedish capital. The prisoners’ labor was not in vain – the once stony wasteland around the correctional facility turned into a flourishing garden.

Longholmen Prison, officially the Central Prison of Långholmen (Swedish: Långholmens centralfängelse), was historically one of the largest prison institutions in Sweden with more than 500 cells, located on the island of Långholmen in Stockholm. It was built between 1874 and 1880 as Sweden’s central prison and was temporarily closed from 1972 to 1975.

The island itself was originally rocky and barren, but in the 19th century, through the labor of prisoners, the island was covered with fertile soil. Within a few years, the island turned into a blooming garden with somewhat exotic flora compared to the surrounding areas. The island is known as a lush oasis.

Many famous people passed through the cells of Långholmen. Such as the Amalteaman Anton Nilsson, artist Isaac Grünewald, politicians like Hinke Bergegren and Hjalmar Branting, convicted spy Stig Wennerström, and writers Barbro Alving and Jan Guillou. But besides them, there were countless petty thieves, rapists, and drug addicts whom society wanted to get rid of. At the beginning of the last century, flogging was common. Prisoner Alfred Stern (as well as Anton Nilsson, convicted for blowing up a boat with strikebreakers in the Malmö harbor in 1908) recounted: “A person to be whipped is taken to the bathroom, where a whipping bench is prepared. There are plenty of constables, so there’s no need to fuss... Securely shackled, he receives four lashes per minute in the presence of a doctor and the warden – the latter with a watch in hand. By the twentieth lash, blood has stained the underwear red.” The prison is also known as the site of the last execution in Sweden; in 1910, the murderer Alfred Ander was executed here, and it was also the place of final imprisonment of the last prisoner sentenced to death before the abolition of the death penalty in 1921.

Subsequently, the prison was relocated. After the prison on Långholmen was closed, it stood unused for several years, slowly falling into disrepair before it was put to use again. The central prison, shaped like a pentagon, was demolished in 1982, but in the old Kronohäktet, visitors can now spend the night in one of the cells. The building is used as a hotel/hostel and museum, as well as housing a school. The hostel was opened in May 1989 and received a prestigious Swedish award as the best hostel of the year.

The hostel owners combined the unique history and atmosphere of the prison (most details were preserved) with modern amenities and proximity to the city center. Besides affordable accommodation, the hostel offers an unusual experience of living in a prison, which has made it very popular among young people. In addition to the hostel itself, the complex includes a hotel and a restaurant. On the part of the island occupied by the prison, there are practically no other buildings, but there is a large park and a beach on the shore of Lake Mälaren, which further increased the hostel’s rating in the eyes of the Swedish Tourist Association (Svenska Turistföreningen).

The building was then converted into a hotel with 112 rooms, a conference hall, and a hostel. The former prison hospital now houses a pub and restaurant. Where the checkpoint used to be, there is now a cafeteria. Visitors can also visit an interesting museum here. For entertainment, various team games are offered, such as “The Prisoners of Långholmen,” during which a team of 25 to 90 people is dressed in prison robes, followed by a banquet held in the prison.