The legend of dozens of songs and ballads: Vaasa Prison 150 years

Prison in Old Vaasa

In the 15th century, Finland had five king's prisons in the castles located in Turku, Vyborg, Raseborg and Hämeenlinna. In the fief of Ostrobothnia, the prisoners were placed in the cellars and store sheds on the royal estate in Korsholm. A two-roomed prison building made of timber was built in Korsholm in the 1650s. The first building in Finland designed expressly as a prison was a two-floor timber prison, which was completed in 1750 and extended before the end of the 18th century. The 1852 fire in Old Vaasa destroyed the town but the prison remained safe. Emperor Nicholas I decided to move the town to its current location. It was also decided to build a prison on the outskirts of the town so that it would be close to its director, i.e. the governor.

Present building

The first plans of the prison were made by Carl Axel Setterberg but they were abandoned probably as too grand and expensive. The planning assignment was handed over to Ludvig Lindqvist, acting architect of the province of Oulu. Architect Ernst Lohrmann, head of the intendant's office, modified the plans of Mr Lindqvist before their approval.

The prison was built in 1861-1863 by using prison labour. All prisoners were transferred to the new prison on 3 September 1863. A major change from a shared prison to a prison with cells was completed in 1890. This meant building the southern and northern wings higher from two to four floors and another wing on the waterfront side. The surrounding wall was not built until the 20th century.

A sports hall and an accommodation ward, which currently functions as an open prison ward, were built in 1999. The renovation of the prison building was completed in 2001.

Almost throughout its history, the prison has been overcrowded. The prison population has varied by dozens even within a relatively short period of time. This has demanded flexibility from the prison - nowadays it would be called agility - to carry out the tasks with the available budget and human resources. When the prison was built, there were 141 places (in shared rooms) and after the renovation in 1890, the prison had 157 places. The change into a prison with cells increased the number of places. After the renovation in 2001, the prison had 64 places for prisoners.

Staff

The prison was directed by a governor until 1891 when the prison administration was established. In 1863, the prison had a caretaker as a superior as well as a preacher and 16 guards. As from 1875, the police chief of the castle took over the superior duties. The first director of Vaasa Provincial Prison, August Studd, was appointed on 7 March 1891. Mr Studd was subject to the prison administration. Since then there have been nine directors. The number of staff has increased considerably over the years. At the moment, there are 59 public offices in the prison.

Activities

The prisoners have always worked either for themselves or for the prison during their imprisonment. In 1865, the procurator visited the prisons around Finland and noted that the work the prisoners carried out included carpentry, shoe repair, tailoring, and fishing net weaving. Women sewed and knitted socks. Male prisoners also did farm work outside the prison at the church farm. The prisoners in the open prison ward still work outside the prison in town parks and environmental constructions.

Vaasa Prison has taken care of the transportation of prisoners on trains among other passengers, on postbuses, on a separate train carriage specifically acquired for prisoner transportation, and nowadays on buses.

The education of prisoners has been included in the duties of the prison at least since the 1890s.

"If a prisoner learned to avoid killing, stealing, and adultery and obeyed his or her parents and even the authorities, the goals of the prison services had already been largely achieved." The content of this sentence is the same as the goals of the prison today.

Vaasa Prison now

Vaasa Prison is the smallest closed prison in Finland. The prison takes people ordered to remand imprisonment with pending criminal matters in the district courts of Ostrobothnia and South Ostrobothnia. Besides the remand prisoners, two-thirds of the prison population are sentenced prisoners, who are also mainly from the aforementioned regions. The nearest prison is over 200 km away.

The status and future of Vaasa Prison have been ensured in the ongoing review of the facilities and savings targets. After 2001, this is a historical time as the prison population is equivalent to the confirmed number of places.

The prison executes the goals of the Imprisonment Act, which entered into force in 2006: it actively implements the prisoners' sentence plans, draws up release plans in cooperation with other authorities, and uses probationary liberty under supervision as a tool for a controlled transition to freedom.

In 2010, Prison Director Taina Nummela was also appointed as the director of a community sanctions office (former probation office). Having a joint director has notably increased the cooperation between the prison and the community sanctions office.

History about to be published

An extensive and richly illustrated history of Vaasa Prison covering the phases of the prison and its predecessor Korsholm royal prison from the 18th century to the present day will be completed by historian Jukka Muiluvuori this autumn. At the same time, it gives a critical general overview of the development of the Finnish prison service policies in the 20th century - all was not quite as it seemed.

Further information: Director Taina Nummela. Vaasa Prison and Vaasa Community Sanctions Office, tel. +358 29 56 83840 and +358 50 389 1508 or Head of Communication Usko Määttä, tel. +358 50 331 0067