[1] In 1864, a new debtors' prison was built in Berlin's royal city, north-east of today's Alexanderplatz, under the direction of architects Carl Johann Christian Zimmermann and Albert Cremer [de].

After Prussia abolished imprisonment for debtors in May 1868,[2] it was converted and extended to become the Royal Prussian Women's Prison.

This modification included the following changes: For the architecture of the extension, brick was also chosen in a color that was as close as possible to the old stone, following on from the old building, which had an English-Gothic design (Fig.

[3][4] The buildings survived the bombing raids and hostilities at the end of the World War II with only minor damage.

However, due to the work opportunities in a neighboring industrial laundry, a new women's prison was built in Köpenick in 1974.

[1] The site was initially used as a sports ground with a gymnasium, concrete floor and jumping pit, and in the 1990s a traffic education facility was established.

[1] As a result of the socialist laws and the anti-war movement of World War I, women were also imprisoned for political reasons.

Over 300 women of the resistance started their final journey from here, including:[7] They include women from well-known resistance groups and movements: In the post-war years, black market transactions and theft of food or other everyday items or for example theft of ration cards were the most common reasons for imprisonment.

[1] In the early 1960's with prison inmate numbers declining and concomitant lack of maintenance that resulted in a large rat infestation, plans were made to relocate it.

[11][12][13] A plaque on the stele, reminiscent of prison bars, reads: The resistance fighters were not commemorated at this point during the GDR era.