6 Bizarre Prisons Around The World

Norway is home to some of the world's most progressive prisons. A country with no life sentences or death penalty means each prisoner will return home one day, so the penal system stresses rehabilitation. While Bastoey Island's low security prison is home to some of the country's worst criminals -- who come here to serve the last part of their sentences -- you wouldn't know it from the digs. With no jail bars, the "cells" look more like cozy dorm rooms, for which inmates hold their own keys. "It's the holiday version of Alcatraz" wrote CNN reporter John D. Sutter. Deemed the "human ecological prison," Bastoey offers educational and skill-building programs to re-integrate inmates back into society, including a farm where prisoners can tend to cows and chickens. The same progressive rehabilitation method is shared throughout Norway's prisons, which may explain why the country also has the lowest reoffending rates--30 percent--in Europe.

Located just outside La Paz, Bolivia, San Pedro Prison may be one of South America's most notorious and unique penitentiaries. Though the prison features food stands, hairdressers and even a hotel, there's one catch: inmates have to pay for their cells, which range from $1000-$1500 for the entirety of the inmate's sentence. The cells range from posh living quarters complete with a TV and kitchen amenities to shared cement cells. That means, to keep up rent, the prisoners must earn their rent money through various day jobs inside the jail marketplace, including shoe-shiner, hairdresser and street vendor. "If you have money you can live like a king," an inmate told the BBC.

The Fortezza Medicea Prison, located in Volterra, Tuscany, Italy houses 150 inmates and one of the most exclusive restaurants in the country. A team of convicts, many serving life for murder, prepare classic Italian fare for customers who all must go through extensive background checks. Diners are serenaded by a pianist doing life for murder, while head Chef Egidio commands his team in the kitchen as they churn out killer Alfredo, all using plastic cutlery and under the watchful eyes of guards, according to The Telegraph.

Housing just over 200 inmates, the completely booked Justice Center Leoben in Austria is touted as a '5 Star Prison'. Designed by architect Josef Hohensinn in 2004, the sleek glass and wooden interiors mimic the outside world. In pursuit of re-socializing its inmates, the modern prison looks more like a modern-day college dorm, chock-full of Ikea-inspired decor. Inmates can move freely among the spacious cells or multiple outdoor communal spaces (enclosed by bars). “Maximum security outside; maximum freedom inside,” Hohensinn told the New York Times.