Sint-Gillis Prison

The Sint-Gillis prison dates back to 1885 and is one of the oldest prisons in Belgium after Dendermonde. The plans for the building, which was conceived from 1875 to replace the old Carmelites prison, were created by architect Joseph J. Dumont, who also designed the prison of Leuven. The design fit into the plan from 1830 by Edouard Ducpétiaux, then General Inspector-General of Prisons. The complex was built between 1878 and 1884 in neo-Tudor style, under the supervision of architect François Derre, and accommodates 504 inmates. The prison was inaugurated on June 15, 1885. The first director of the prison was Jean Stevens. After the Second World War, the prison played an important role in the punishment of collaboration. Leaders of political and military organizations, well-known propagandists, spies, and military officers were often imprisoned there. In the 1980s, Jean Bultot was the deputy director of the prison, which was mentioned in the case of the "Bende van Nijvel." In recent decades, there have been many tensions in the prison, including due to overcrowding and staff shortages, leading to riots by inmates and strikes by staff. Since the 1990s, the prison has been overcrowded, with around eight hundred inmates. Next to this prison are the Vorst prison and the Berkendael prison. At the end of 2022, the prisons were set to be replaced by the new Haren prison in the north of Brussels-City. However, even then, around 200 inmates would still have to remain in Sint-Gillis due to lack of space.

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