Schrassig Prison (Officially:"''Centre pénitentiaire de Schrassig''") is the only closed penitentiary in

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. The prison is located near the towns of

Schrassig Schrassig ( ) is a town in the commune of Schuttrange, in the south-east of Luxembourg. As of 2024, the town has a population of 856. It houses the country's biggest prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center ...

Sandweiler Sandweiler (; ) is a commune and town in southern Luxembourg. It is located east of Luxembourg City. As of 2024, the town of Sandweiler, which lies in the south-west of the commune, has a population of 3721. Other settlements within the commune ...

and

Oetrange Oetrange (, ) is a small town in the commune of Contern, in south-eastern Luxembourg. , the town has a population of 985. The town is served by Oetrange railway station, which lies on CFL Line 30. Geography Oetrange is located in the Syre ...

and is built upon land belonging to the commune of

Schuttrange Schuttrange (; ; ) is a commune and small town in southern Luxembourg. It is located east of Luxembourg City. , the town of Schuttrange, which lies in the centre of the commune, has a population of 1,782. Other towns within the commune include ...

. The prison opened in 1984 after 6 years of construction and replaced the prison in

Grund, Luxembourg The Grund (, ) is a quarter in central Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. It is located in the valley below the centre of Luxembourg City on the banks of the Alzette river. In addition to being a picturesque area, it is a popular nightlife ...

. It was overcrowded within 3 years. During the 1990s the institution was extended, but remained overcrowded.Jeannot Krecké:
Der Ausbau von Schrassig
(German) (PDF; 436 kB)''. In: ''forum'' nr. 138, 2002 The prison was further extended in March 2007 to allow for a capacity of up to 600 prisoners, and was occupied by 680 prisoners including 37 women.Interview with Minister of Justice

Luc Frieden Luc Frieden (; born 16 September 1963) is a Luxembourgish politician and lawyer serving as List of prime ministers of Luxembourg, prime minister of Luxembourg since November 2023. A member of the Christian Social People's Party (CSV), he held nu ...

(German). In: ''Télécran'', 31. March 2007
Télécran (gouvernement.lu)
/ref> The prison's population fell between 2007 and 2008. September 2008 there were 596 prisoners incarcerated in Schrassig prison including 26 women.Luxemburger Wort:
''Zahl der Insassen rückläufig''
(German), 29. May 2009 In the year 2012 there were on average 588 prisoners incarcerated (558 men and 30 women) In addition to the prison in

, Luxembourg has an open prison, for male inmates, located in Givenich.

In the media

The overcrowding of the prison is a recurrent topic in the Luxembourgish press. Schrassig prison was the set for the Luxembourgish film ''Back in Trouble'' (1997) featuring

Moritz Bleibtreu Moritz Johann Bleibtreu ( is a German film actor, voice actor, and film director. He has been a successful actor in many movies such as ''Run Lola Run, Das Experiment, The Baader Meinhof Complex'', and Atomised (film), ''Elementary Particles''. ...

, and directed by

Andy Bausch Andy Bausch (born 12 April 1959 in Dudelange, Luxembourg) is a Luxembourgish film director. He studied painting and photography. Through interest in rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United State ...

References

{{authority control Government agencies of Luxembourg Prisons in Luxembourg Schuttrange