The Ministry of Education, Universities, Culture and Sports of the Government of the Canary Islands will assume the recovery works of the municipal property called Antigua Cárcel de La Laguna, based on the execution project drawn up by the municipal technical team, which has the mandatory reports and is compatible with planning. This is reflected in the agreement signed between said council and the Lagunero City Council and published yesterday in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands (BOC). Specifically, the Ministry, through the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, will be in charge of financing, tendering and executing the works in the building, which, once the work is completed, will be returned to the City Council.
The historic building of the Old La Laguna Prison is located in the inner courtyard of the Casa del Corregidor, within the block where the municipal offices are located, in the southern vertex of the area of the Historic Complex of La Laguna declared World Heritage. This property has historical relevance because it is the only known construction carried out in the origins of the city, in the first third of the 16th century, according to the available historical information, and includes the municipal execution project.
Characteristics
According to this document, the building, with an interior surface of about 46 square meters, has all its original constructive elements intact, which gives it a special heritage importance, preserving walls, barrel vault, stone pavement, exterior cladding, whitewashed and remains. of paint, and so on. In addition, it is noted that, inside, “the walls and ceiling are whitewashed, containing various writings that possibly belong to prisoners who occupied the dungeon over time.”
In the middle of the last century, the old jail lost its original function, becoming a municipal warehouse and storage room since then. To date, the space contains telephony and computer equipment and facilities, for which interior works have been carried out. The project also points out that “there are no notable pathologies in construction, only those typical of the passage of time.”
In consideration of its historical value, the actions are aimed at its rehabilitation, improving its accessibility, recovering its space through the removal of facilities, wiring and gutters, the demolition of added elements, both inside and on its facades, and leading to carry out the repair and cleaning of the elements to be conserved, providing it with the corresponding lighting and signage, all in accordance with the municipal technical project.
The budget for these works amounts to 39,346.42 euros and they have an execution period of two months, it is specified in the agreement.
According to the Councilor for Historical Heritage of the Lagunero City Council, Elvira Jorge, after the rehabilitation of the building a study will be commissioned on the possible actions to be carried out to put it in value.
