Nya smedjegården

Nya smedjegården (literary: The New Blacksmith's Yard) was an historical prison in Stockholm, in use between 1636 and 1896.

The name of the prison comes from its predecessor, Smedjegården (literary: The Blacksmith's Yard), which was a prison in the dungeons of the royal castle Tre Kronor (castle), were the prisons were made to force labor in a Forge, hence the name: the old Smedjegården was in use until it was destroyed when the castle burn down in 1697, and was used in parallel to the "New" Smedjegården.

The Nya smedjegården was founded in 1636 between the streets Drottninggatan and Torsgatan in Stockholm. The prison housed both an orphanage, a house of correction and the infamous torture chamber Rosenkammaren. The prison was used for both male and female prisoners, which were normally not kept separated from each other. From 1664 onward, it was the only prison in Stockholm to keep those who had received a death sentence. The torture chamber was closed by the abolition of torture in 1772.

In the 1840s, the prison reform introduced cells, and in 1849, Nya smedjegården was transformed to a women's prison. The building was demolished in 1896.

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