The Prison at Fontevraud

In 1804, the former Abbey of Fontevraud was transformed into a prison. It took ten years for the work converting the complex and it was not until 1814 that the first 200 prisoners arrived: men, women and children. In 1850, the women were transferred to the prison of Rennes while the children went to Roiffé. 

At its peak the prison of Fontevraud held 2700 prisoners overseen by 48 guards.  The notorious facility, considered the second worst in France, closed in 1963.

Graffiti on a prison cell door done by a member of the Resistance in the Second World War.

Some inmates left traces of their time in the prison of Fontevraud, probably to remind those who came after who they were (sometimes military, sometimes craftsmen, for example).