Support me on Patreon for early access previews, rewards and giveaways!
Contact Me
Or use the contact form below.
Yellow Prison, Portugal
The Yellow Prison is an interesting abandoned Portuguese prison from an architectural perspective. One afternoon, we showed up and decided to “give it a go” and try our luck. Success! We eventually found a way inside, and this location certainly did not disappoint!
I explored this location during my Portugal 2022 Road Trip. It has been a few years since I last explored an abandoned prison, so this was a happy addition to the itinerary.
A Brief History of the Yellow Prison
The death penalty was abolished in Portugal in the 1860s. In order to increase the amount of prison space, new penitentiaries were built throughout the course of the next two decades. Due to the high construction costs brought on by the elaborate architectural ideas, it took a long time to construct the Yellow Prison. Before it was shut down, the prison was in use for over a century.
Several rehabilitation strategies have been proposed for the Yellow Prison. Firstly, it is suggested that the prison simply be repaired/modernised and re-opened. Alternately, a number of potential new usage scenarios have been suggested, but nothing has been formally agreed upon.
Exploring an abandoned Portuguese Prison
The layout of the Yellow Prison resembles a four-armed cross. There are four wings: one with offices for admin staff and three cell wings. A lofty vaulted ceiling with a sizable rectangular skylight is present in each two storey cell wing. There are over 100 single-occupancy cells in this facility.
The four cell wings radiate from an octagonal central hub. At the base of the central hub is a glass-panelled office, likely some sort of guard office. This office offers a 360-degree view of the ground floor. Above this office there is a two-storey plinth, creating multi-level platforms. These platforms are connected to walkways that allow guards to watch over Yellow Prison and to move safely between all the prison wings. The walkways connect directly to the upper level of each cell wing, as well as to the chapel and additional office/storage space on the third floor.
Seen a photo you love? All my images are available as prints, please do Contact Me and let me create your perfect bespoke artwork.
What do you think?
Which photograph caught your eye the most? How did this location make you feel? Do you have a question? Let me know by leaving a comment!
Join My Adventures!
I add new content every week, ranging from exciting new locations to blog articles about my road trips. My beautiful newsletter will bring my photographic adventures direct to your inbox!
Processing…
Success! You're on the list.
Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.
Your email address will not be shared, or publically displayed. I will only use your data to send you the newsletter, as outlined in the Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe at any time, via the opt-out link included in every email.
4 Comments
Leave a Reply
1 - Please do not ask for location addresses, see FAQ.
2 - Your email address will not be shared, or publically displayed. I will only use your data to reply to your message, as outlined in the Privacy Policy
Nice spread. Too bad you didn’t get a cell shot. I would be curious what they looked like. As usual, very fine work you do. I’m always amazed, but never surprised. I have come to expect the greatness of your work.
Peace, my friend.
Ah yes, I forgot that a cell shot (I realised when I got back to the car!). I was a little concerned that someone might come and cut short the visit, so I was rushing around a bit. Aww thanks so much Mark, you always radiate such wonderful positivity and warmth. I feel lucky to have you in my life and honoured to call you my friend, you always make me smile. Peace and love, always <3
What a gorgeous building. Beautiful interiors. It looks almost too good to be a prison. It could be developed to be converted as a hotel, or even a hostel. It’s a shame it has been abandoned.
It is a grand building for sure! What an amazing hotel this would be, although I fear the rooms might be a little small 🙁