Maritime and Prison Museum

Information

It is the building of the former Ushuaia's presidium, which is currently used for tourism purposes. It is located in the eastern area of the city.

To enter you have to pay an entrance ticket. It can be visited independently, but there is also the option of doing it with a guide who will take visitors on the tour at different times.

It was a prison that was built between 1902 and 1920 by the prisoners themselves. It had a central hall and 5 wards. It was intended for repeat offenders and dangerous criminals, as well as political detainees. Some well-known prisoners of the time were there, such as the 'Petiso Orejudo' (the first known serial killer in Argentina) and the anarchist Simón Radowitzky (who assassinated the police chief Ramón L. Falcón). The prison was closed in 1947 for humanitarian reasons.

The 5 wards, each with a ground and upper floor, currently have different functions. In one of them is the prison museum with cells and replicas of prisoners, and is where the guided tours take place. Another ward maintains its original atmosphere and allows visitors to see what the prison was really like. In the rest are the Antarctic Museum, the Marine Art Museum, the Maritime Museum, the Police Museum, an art gallery and a gift shop.