This diploma thesis aims to elucidate Norwegian prison architecture in the 19th century. The main ambition has been to undertake an archival study of the planning, design and construction of regional prisons in Norway. In the period 1862–67, 56 regional prisons were constructed all across Norway. Norwegian prison architecture in the nineteenth century is a good example of how international architectural ideals were imported, modified, and adjusted to local conditions, all in a period marked by great political, technological and cultural upheavals. In this dissertation, I present the results of an extensive archival study of this building process, contextualizing the prisons’ architectural design and placing them in a national and international historical context.