Villa Jail

La Cárcel de la Villa de Pedraza is a historical museum housed in a medieval building located next to the gate of the walled enclosure of Pedraza, in the province of Segovia, Castilla y León. The heritage typology is that of a former prison or stately prison converted into a museum resource, which can be visited by means of a guided tour. The autonomous tourist sources place it in a building of the 13th century, while Segovia Turismo also indicates that it was rebuilt in the 16th century; therefore, it is an architecture of medieval origin with later reforms. Its location at the entrance to the town reinforces its historical function of controlling access to the walled enclosure. Among the documented heritage elements are the two-level dungeons, cells, stocks and shackles used to immobilize prisoners. There are also preserved spaces interpreted as lower dungeons for the most dangerous inmates and upper ones for minor offenders, which allows us to understand the traditional penitentiary organization of the building. The management and opening to the public is attributed to the Villa de Pedraza Foundation, which organizes guided tours and maintains the historical dissemination of the building. In the context of Pedraza, a medieval walled town declared a Historic Site, the Cárcel de la Villa is one of the most representative heritage resources of the urban complex.