The smallest prison in the world is located on Sark Island, one of the quietest, most peaceful and ecologically clean places on Earth. The use of cars is prohibited on the island, no planes fly over it. Even in such a truly paradise corner, there was a place for such a gloomy structure. The prison is designed for two people and its history is unique, like itself.
The Sark prison
Sark is a very small island. It is only five kilometers long. It is located in the southwestern part of the English Channel and belongs to Great Britain. Only five hundred inhabitants live here. The first mentions of the island of Sark were in 1040, when William the Conqueror gave it to the abbey of Mont Saint Michel. In the middle of the 16th century, the island was captured by France, subsequently England conquered it. Until the very beginning of the 20th century, smugglers and pirates hid here from justice.
The smallest prison in the world
The Sark prison was built in 1856. The islet was the only British territory captured by the Nazis during World War II. Until 2006, feudalism reigned here. Democracy reached the island only fourteen years ago and universal suffrage was introduced. Sark seems to be quite deceivingly safe. In its history, there were many incidents proving the need for special measures for checking visitors and defense. For example, in 1990, nuclear physicist André Garde arrived here in a boat loaded with semi-automatic weapons. The Frenchman declared himself Lord of Sark and immediately set about installing his advertising posters. According to the scientist, "the island was now under his rule." The reign of the unexpected guest was short-lived. He was arrested the day after he went ashore. The constable knocked him down with a blow to the nose and took away the weapon. In 2013, they even made a movie about it called “The Man Who Tried to Steal an Island”.
The unusual island has the smallest prison in the world, with only two cells. They have no windows, there are beds with thin mattresses. There is a meter long corridor between the cells, and the total area of the building is only eighteen square meters. This stone structure with a barrel-shaped roof was built in 1856. From the outside, it looks like some kind of village house. This is definitely far from reality!
Sark is one of the Channel Islands, incredibly beautiful and graceful. It is known for its impressive landmarks. It is fitting that the prison is very small here. In fact, Sark Prison is widely regarded as the smallest prison in the world that still operates.
This place is not a permanent solution, it is designed as pre-trial detention. The prisoners spend a couple of days behind bars - or rather, without it, since this prison has no windows, then they are sent to the neighboring island of Guernsey. The first inmate of the unique prison on Sark was a young maid. She stole a handkerchief from her mistress. The girl was sentenced to imprisonment for three days. She was very much afraid of the dark and her cell door was left open. Instead of prison guards, there were local ladies with her, who sat next to her, knitted and talked to the prisoner. Two volunteer constables are involved in law enforcement on the island. Due to the fact that vehicles are prohibited on Sark, there are no accidents here. Now the only inmates of the world's most unique prison can be, perhaps tourists who have had too much alcohol. True, occasionally it happens that farmers get there, who got drunk behind the wheel of their tractor. On the island you can watch the beautiful starry sky. Nothing prevents this here - there are no cars, artificial lighting is limited. Tourists are also encouraged to see the granite carving made by a Tibetan monk, which is about a thousand years old.
The island is like a heavenly place, just do not disturb the order there, otherwise you will have an extremely difficult night in a small bunk in a tiny prison.
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