THE GUARDIAN
January 2025
Escape from the terrordome: how Netherlands panopticon prisons are being reborn as stunning arts hubs
They were built to instil fear. Now these giant domed jails, which date back to the 1700s, are being turned into creative centres – complete with cells for rent and escape rooms
One of the architectural features that marks out the skyline of Haarlem, a small Dutch city, is a 37.6m-high dome, crowning a rotunda. You might assume it was built for religious purposes – until you notice the bars covering its 230 windows.
Operating as a prison from 1899 until 2016, the Koepelgevangenis (“dome prison”) is one of three panoptic penitentiaries built in the Netherlands. All were shut down in the past decade as part of the country’s drive to reduce its prison population and are now being repurposed as arts venues.
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Hi, I'm Charis McGowan, a British-Caribbean writer based between London, UK, and Santiago, Chile.
I’ve been a regular news stringer in Chile for over eight years, contributing to outlets including The Guardian, Al Jazeera, the BBC, The Telegraph, and more. My work primarily focuses on human rights and social justice. Additionally, I am the former Music Editor-at-Large at gal-dem, where I wrote extensively about music and culture with a focus on Latin America and the Caribbean.
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