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Vechta goes down in history with a unique prison project!
The University of Vechta is starting a cooperation project to examine the prison history of Vechta from 1816 to 1945, with a planned exhibition.
Vechta goes down in history with a unique prison project!
On May 23, 2025, an important cooperation project to deal with the history of the prison in Vechta was presented. The collaboration includes the correctional facility (JVA) for women, the University of Vechta and the Lohne Industrial Museum. The aim of the project is to record and categorize the prison's archives in order to shed light on the everyday life of prisoners between 1816 and 1945. These archive materials will serve as the basis for a planned exhibition that is scheduled to open in the Lohne Industrial Museum at the end of September 2026, as the University of Vechta reports.
The project began with an exchange in May 2024 that Dr. Katharina Tebben, the head of the prison, suggested. Prof. Dr. Eugen Kotte from the University of Vechta took over the leadership of the discussions to evaluate materials collected in the prison's history cellar. These include site plans, photographs and historical objects that were compiled by Friedrich Grüterich, a former prison employee. This collection documents the transformation of the former Franciscan monastery into a prison in 1816 as well as the development of the penal system to this day.
The history of the penal system in Vechta
Over the centuries, Vechta has developed into one of the most traditional correctional locations in Germany. Since the middle of the 17th century, the city has been a central location for the correctional system in the Oldenburger Münsterland. As part of secularization, the Franciscan monastery was converted into a prison. The Vechta JVA for women has been an independent institution since 1996, while a women's prison with around 50 places was built on Bahnhofstrasse in the 19th century.
With the construction of the largest prison building, House I, in 1904, which offered around 400 places, the JVA Vechta became the largest youth facility in Lower Saxony in the 1950s. This transformation is part of the institution's extensive history, which has been characterized by various reforms and adaptation to social changes. Penitentiaries in Germany, as they emerged in the 17th century, served not only to punish criminals, but also to house unpleasant fellow citizens, which represents a problematic facet of the original penal system, as explained in the JVA blog.
Exhibition and continuation of the project
The planned exhibition in the Lohne Industrial Museum will address the operation and everyday life of the prisons in Vechta. Accompanying this is a catalog volume that provides further insights into the history of the penal system. The project seminar for recording the history collection will be offered in the summer semester of 2025 and a follow-up seminar will take place in the winter semester of 2025/2026 in order to prepare the exhibition in detail. Dr. Martin Hölzen from the prison also took an active part in the planning.
The cooperation of these institutions creates a unique opportunity to make the complex history of the penal system in Germany and especially in Vechta tangible, both academically and for the broader public. The University of Vechta reports.
The Vechta Correctional Facility has experienced many changes since its founding, including adapting to modern penal principles and advancing social norms. With this review, not only part of German history becomes visible, but also the social change in the perception of punishment and rehabilitation, as in JVA blog is highlighted.