List of Illustrations
| [Heidelberg] | Frontispiece | |
| [Friedrich Von Der Trenck, in his Cell in the Star Fort] | Page | 52 |
| [Silvio Pellico at Spielberg] | “ | 256 |
GERMAN AND AUSTRIAN PRISONS
CHAPTER I
PRINCIPAL PRISONS
The Bruchsal in Baden—The Moabit in Berlin, the prison Stein—Penal methods in force—Adoption of solitary confinement not universally accepted—Bruchsal opened in 1848—Penal methods employed—The annex where prisoners are kept in association—The Protestant brotherhood and their work in the Moabit prison—Munich—The work of Obermaier—Bavarian penal code—Capital Punishment—Long Trials—Case of Riembauer—Hans Leuss’ account of Celle and his imprisonment there—Flogging—The “bed of lathes”—Zwickau in Saxony—Humane treatment in force—Heilbronn—Prison reform in Austrian and Hungarian prisons—Three new prisons erected in Austria-Hungary.
The cellular prison at Bruchsal in the grand-duchy of Baden was commenced in 1841 and opened on October 10, 1848. It stands at the northeast of the town of Bruchsal, on the highway to Heidelberg, in a pleasant part of the country, enjoying a mild and healthy situation. Hills rise in the background, while in front stretches the plain of the Rhine, with its rich fields and wealthy villages. Immediately adjoining the prison are two larger and two smaller buildings containing official abodes for the superior and lower officers of the penitentiary. The main building is a stately edifice, on an elevated site, and the entire group is surrounded by a wall. This wall, of considerable thickness and height, is a regular octagon, flanked by turrets at the angles, which serve above as sentry boxes for the military posts and below as dark cells. The soldiers who guard the penitentiary walk about on the wall, which is four hundred feet long and encloses a plot of ground of more than seven acres.
The discipline imposed at Bruchsal is very severe in character and it has been found that the rule of isolation cannot be persisted in for much more than four years. Only nine per cent. of the prisoners could support so long a term; and the director has reported that after three years of cellular confinement the muscular fibres become so weakened that it is almost impossible to expect hard work from those subjected to it. Bruchsal has an annex or auxiliary establishment where association is the rule for certain prisoners: First, those who have undergone six years of cellular confinement, unless they elect to remain in the cell; second, those who are above seventy years of age; third, those whose bodily or mental health unfits them for separation. Industrial and other education go hand in hand at Bruchsal; the earnings of the inmates at many various trades are substantial and the prisoners value the teaching of the schoolmaster. The trades are various, to avoid interference with private labour. The contract system is not employed, but the prison authorities manufacture goods on their own account. All needful attention is paid in the Bruchsal prisons, whether cellular or associated, to hygiene, diet, clothing, bedding and so forth.