In order to punish minor offenses (theft or adultery), and if anyone had sinned against the governing rules, a pillory or "prangar" was erected in the immediate vicinity of the small town or today's Cooperative House. Perhaps they also punished anyone for smuggling, which flourished in the mid-17th century. The time of the sentence depended on the offense and could last for several days. The punished were allegedly not being whipped, but there were exceptions. Such and similar public punishments began to be abandoned in the first half of the 19th century.