A prison inside the Rock, Monaco's most serious curiosity

It’s one of the oddest things people search about Monaco, and the answer is better than you’d expect. Yes, the country has a prison, just one, and it’s in the most unlikely place, inside the old ramparts of the Rock, underneath one of the Principality’s loveliest gardens. You can’t visit, of course, but its story is a small portrait of Monaco.

A prison inside the ramparts

Records before the French Revolution are thin, but Monaco’s government believes the cells were inside the palace itself, going by a treasury register of 1726. In 1800, with Monaco annexed to France, a report by the military commander described the sorry state of six palace rooms being used as a prison. When the princely family returned in 1815 they took back their home and had to find somewhere else.

Around 1865 the choice fell on a large underground chamber beneath the Saint-Martin Gardens, 46 metres long, 9 wide and 6 high. It was part of the fortifications Antoine I built in the early 17th century, beside the fort named after him, designed to shelter townspeople and garrison during an attack, complete with a large cistern. It strikes me as a very Monegasque solution, using every last hollow in the rock. Those gardens, now a free stroll, are in the Saint-Martin Gardens.

From adventurers to today’s inmates

The government notes that at the end of the 19th century there were plenty of prisoners, because the creation of Monte-Carlo drew adventurers chasing easy money, and the 1900 register lists fourteen nationalities. Numbers fell sharply with the mobilisation for the First World War and rose again at times, reaching 215 detentions in 1983.

In 1986 the decision was taken to renovate and extend the building, and when the work ended in 1988 the prison could hold 90 detainees, in wings for men, women and minors. In 2000 a 1,200 m² administrative block was added, blended into the protected setting of Monaco-Ville. Since 1990 it has come under the Directorate of Judicial Services rather than the government, as in many European countries.

Who’s inside

The profile has changed over the years. Today more than half the inmates are neither Monegasque nor French. In recent years, according to the government, around 25% of admissions were for driving under the influence, 30% for theft and 20% for financial offences. In 2011, for instance, 17 minors were admitted, and since then an agreement with the education department has kept them studying.

The drink-driving figure is a useful warning. Monaco’s limit is 0.5 g/l, as in France, according to VisitMonaco, so if you drive over for the day, check it against the rules you’re used to. Rules that can cost you a fine, or worse, are in scams and safety in Monaco.

Life inside, as the government tells it

The government describes the routine in some detail. There are two exercise walks a day, and the morning one is compulsory. Each detainee can shower twice a day and has three supervised weights sessions a week. There’s a dental surgery inside the detention area, a social worker who visits weekly and regular inspections by judges and prosecutors. Sentenced prisoners may phone for 15 minutes a day, at their own expense.

I won’t give you a current number of prisoners, because the government doesn’t publish one on that page and I’d rather not make it up. What does give pause is the proportion, 90 places for a country of 38,857 residents, but one that tens of thousands of people enter every day to work, not to mention the visitors. Seen that way, a prison built into the ramparts of the Rock looks less like a quirk and more like a very practical answer to very little space.

What you can see from outside

There’s nothing to visit at the prison, and no reason to go looking. But when you walk the Rock it’s worth knowing what’s beneath your feet. Between the cathedral, the Oceanographic Museum and Fort Antoine, Antoine I’s old defences are still there, and the fort’s open-air theatre is one of the best things about summer, as I explain in Fort Antoine. The whole old town and its history are in Monaco-Ville, the Rock. And if you enjoy these state oddities, Monaco facts has plenty more.