Azkaban

"They don't need walls and water to keep the prisoners in, not when they're trapped inside their own heads, incapable of a single cheerful thought. Most go mad within weeks."

- Remus Lupin on Azkaban

Azkaban is a wizarding prison located on an island in the middle of the North Sea. Presumably, it only serves the magical community of Great Britain, as there are other wizarding prisons elsewhere such as Nurmengard. Using certain Charms, the prison is hidden from the muggle world, and is unplottable. It gained a reputation as a horrible place, given that its former guards, Dementors, cause great suffering to those in their proximity; most prisoners eventually went insane and slowly died under their influence. Since 1717, using any of the three Unforgivable Curses on another human being has carried a punishment of a life sentence in Azkaban (unless there is sufficient evidence that the caster did so under the influence of the Imperius Curse).

Pre-1998
Azkaban was guarded by Dementors until most of them revolted and joined Lord Voldemort in summer of 1995. As a result, Voldemort's Death Eaters escaped en masse to rejoin their master in both 1996 and 1997.

There is most likely an Anti-Disapparation jinx on Azkaban; if there were not, wizards and witches could simply Disapparate from the prison. However, since it is debatable that most witches and wizards need a wand to Disapparate, this may be irrelevant, as none of the prisoners maintain possession of their wands. Before 1995, most of the prisoners would barely have had enough strength to Disapparate anyway, as the mere presence of Dementors, particularly in large numbers, inhibits the use magical powers.

Prior to the Dementors' revolt, the only persons ever to escape the prison were Barty Crouch Jr and Sirius Black, in 1982 and 1993, respectively. Barty Crouch Jr. was smuggled out by his father, Barty Crouch Sr., and replaced by his dying mother using Polyjuice Potion, while Sirius was able to escape by changing into his Animagus form of a dog.

There is a graveyard outside the wall of Azkaban where the Dementors buried prisoners who died. Although the prison is set in the middle of the ocean with iron walls protecting it, it was unnecessary to keep prisoners inside, as Remus Lupin stated, because the prisoners were already trapped in their own heads due to the intense depression caused by the Dementors. As Sirius indicated, most prisoners went insane after a short while, and some even stopped eating, preferring death to their lives within Azkaban.

It is not known whether wizards made the Azkaban island magically, or whether it was an existing ordinary rock island which wizards took over. If the latter is the case, when the sea level was lower in the it would have been a rock hill standing above  which is now the bed of the North Sea.

After the war
After the end of the Second Wizarding War and Kingsley Shacklebolt's appointment as Minister for Magic in 1998, Dementors were no longer employed as guards of Azkaban. This is likely because they had proven to be untrustworthy, and because the depression and madness their presence caused in prisoners is considered inhumane. Presumably, other security measures were employed to guard the prisoners, most likely far more humane. It is unknown how many surviving Voldemort supporters and Death Eaters were imprisoned in the aftermath.

Known Azkaban convicts
"We have confirmed that ten high-security prisoners, in the early hours of yesterday evening, did escape. And of course, the Muggle Prime Minister has been alerted to the danger. We strongly suspect that the breakout was engineered by a man with personal experience in escaping from Azkaban; notorious mass murderer Sirius Black, cousin of the escapee Bellatrix Lestrange."

- Cornelius Fudge interview to the Daily Prophet about the Azkaban Mass Breakout of January 1996

Etymology
The name Azkaban may be inspired by the famous San Francisco federal prison Alcatraz. It is also located on an island and has had many notorious criminals for inmates, such as Al Capone. It also was infamously known to be inescapable.

Behind the scenes

 * There is an added scene in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in which the 1996 mass breakout at Azkaban is shown.
 * In the film, Azkaban is also on an island, but the island cannot be seen due to the stormy sea.
 * In the front cover of the Bloomsbury edition of the third book, Azkaban is shown to be a rectangular tower, while in the fifth film it is more of a triangular tower.
 * It is likely that if Sirius's status as an Animagus was known, the Ministry would take certain precautions to prevent him from transforming to escape. This would mean that Azkaban's security measure is not fully enforced for every situation at all times.
 * Escaping from Azkaban is apparently a very serious crime, punishable by the worse-than-death Dementor's Kiss. Sirius Black was fated to this, if not for him being rescued beforehand, and Bartemius Crouch Jr. suffered from it when his escape became public. Such a punishment is probably because the escaped prisoners in question are too dangerous to be simply reconfined into the prison, as they could easily escape again.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film) 
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Notes and references
Azkaban Azkaban Азкабан אזקבאן Azkabanin velhovankila