Do you know the prison of the End of the World?

The city of Ushuaia was the chosen place to build one of the most remembered presidios of the Argentine history of the 20th century: the Ushuaia prison, better known as the End of the World prison. The walls of this correctional facility housed the most famous criminals in the country.

USUAHIA, TIERRA DEL FUEGO, ARGENTINA

Monument that remembers the fallen ones in the war of the Falklands Islands

The prison was built in the Argentine city of Ushuaia, in the province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands, in 1896 and began to be operational since 1902. The harsh weather conditions --with low temperatures almost all year round- - and the geographic isolation - it was in the most remote province of the country - they were perfect to build a prison.

The center had five main pavilions - arranged in a star pattern - around a central hall. Each of these had two floors in which the cells were aligned. The prison had a capacity for about 500 inmates, although if this number was exceeded the stables were converted into makeshift cells that could accommodate 40 or 50 more prisoners.

The inmates had rudimentary workshops of carpentry, shoe store, blacksmith, bakery, printing and mechanics that served to keep the center operational. In addition, model inmates were set to fell trees and help in the public construction work of the city.

THE MOST FAMOUS PRISONERS

The End of the World Jail was built to house recidivist, dangerous criminals or to oppose the ruling government of the country. During the 45 years that the center remained in operation many prisoners passed and some of its stories became legend.

One of the best known is that of Cayetano Santos Godino, known as 'Petiso Orejudo - The big-eared dwarf', who killed several children at the beginning of the 20th century and became the first serial killer in Argentina. He arrived at the correctional facility in 1923 and remained there until his death in 1947. Inside he suffered beatings and abuse by the other inmates, because he killed a cat that was the prison's mascot.

Another of the legends of the Ushuaia Prison is Simón Radowitzky, a Russian-Argentinean anarchist, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing a policeman during the Buenos Aires Red Week in 1909. On November 7, 1918, thanks to the aid of Chilean and Argentinean anarchist comrades, managed to flee from Ushuaia.
Radowitzky managed to get a jailer suit and took the change of guard to leave. Once outside, he took a boat and headed to Punta Arenas (Chile). However, there he was captured and returned to the prison, where he was sentenced to two years in solitary confinement. Finally, Radowitzky was released thanks to the help of the Argentine president Hipólito Yrigoyen in 1930.

Another story worth mentioning is that of Mateo Banks, nicknamed the 'Mateocho', accused of killing his family to inherit his fortune. Banks, owner of a farm called 'The Good Luck', decided on April 18, 1922 to take his Winchester rifle and kill his brother, the first of his eight victims.
Immediately after this, he went to the farm 'El Trebol' - also belonging to his family - and killed two laborers, his two nieces, his sister-in-law and his other two brothers. He was sentenced to go to Ushuaia, where he served his sentence from 1924 to 1947.

THE CLOSURE OF THE JAIL

During the government of Juan Domingo Perón the jail was harshly criticized, since in it the prisoners were brutally tortured and treated in an inhuman way. For this reason, the president decided to close it, citing humanitarian reasons in 1947. From that moment on, this building became a myth, as were those who were once among its four walls.
The End of the World Prison has now been transformed into two museums inaugurated in 1994: the Maritime Museum and the Museum of the President of Ushuaia. In this last one, the history of the best-known correctional facility in the country and the main tourist attraction of the city is exhibited.
Throughout the prison you can see murals and representations of what once was the prison. You can also see statues of some of the most famous prisoners in the cells that once occupied and that have made the Prison of the End of the World become a myth.

Drag hook to remove corpses from the river

Shackle with chain and ball

Merchandaising for tourists: a pajama or prisoner costume for children