Basel sanatorium
The Basel sanatorium (1886–1985) was the first popular sanatorium for poor people suffering from tuberculosis in Davos . Before that, the treatment of tuberculosis was only affordable for the upper classes of society. The diagnosis was a definitive death sentence for sick people from the poorer strata of the population, which were far more contaminated, because even a moderately effective therapy was simply unaffordable. Adolf Hägler-Gutzwiller succeeded in reducing these stark differences in the treatment of poor and rich people with tuberculosis through the massive demand and establishment of a people's sanatorium. It became a model for socially motivated lung sanatoriums throughout Europe far beyond Graubünden and Switzerland .
Establishment of the sanatorium
The impetus for the establishment of a sanatorium intended primarily for the financially less well-off working population of Basel- Stadt came from a small group of doctors who worked at the Medical Society of the City of Basel . The decisive factor here was the commitment of Adolf Hägler-Gutzwiller (* 1830; † 1909). On June 13, 1893, Hägler-Gutzwiller gave a courageous lecture to the Medical Society, entitled: “The establishment of sanatoriums for the poor in consumption in Switzerland”. As a result of this lecture, the Medical Society commissioned Haegler-Gutzwiller, canton doctor Theophil Lotz and Rudolf Massini , the director of the general outpatient clinic at the time, to contact the Basel Society for the Promotion of the Good and the Charitable (GGG) and to set up a people's sanatorium . The GGG then called in September 1893 a "Commission for the establishment of a sanatorium for breast patients". The way to founding the people's sanatorium was thus paved.
Adolf Hägler-Gutzwiller was one of the most sought-after and socially committed doctors in Basel. Far beyond the immediate duties of his profession, he achieved groundbreaking achievements in the fight against tuberculosis as a widespread disease until his death. Not only was he one of the founders, but despite his advanced age, he was head of the Basel sanatorium for many years.
Construction and opening
Actually, the sanatorium was not originally supposed to be built in the high mountains, but rather in the Jura for “simpler operations” . But no suitable place was found and, in addition, following the theory developed by the Davos doctor Alexander Spengler (* 1827, † 1901) in the 1860s, the commission aimed at building the sanatorium in the high mountains. After extensive journeys in search of a suitable place (Davos, Arosa , Luzein , etc.) for the pulmonary hospital, it was finally decided to go to a small hill at the foot of the Seehorn in the immediate vicinity of Lake Davos. At the beginning of May 1895, construction work began according to plans by Gustav and Julius Kelterborn and the construction phase was completed at the end of the following year. The construction costs of the sanatorium amounted to 557,000 Swiss Francs . The GGG, the population of Basel, the Basellandschaftliche Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft and the cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft participated in the financing . The first patients were admitted on December 14, 1896. At that time, the sanatorium already had 70 beds, while utility and common rooms were already calculated for 100 patients.
Administrative structure of the house
The GGG was responsible for the Basel sanatorium. The management was taken over by a seven-person "Commission on the Basler Heilstätte for Breast Patients in Davos", elected by her. It was led by the medical director, who was subordinate to a deputy and the assistant doctors. The administrator was responsible for the accounting, while the housemother (or householder) was responsible for housekeeping. The specially founded "Basler Aid Association for Breast Patients" was supposed to provide the necessary financial means to cover the deficit that arose during the operation of the sanatorium, but also to take care of the sick and their relatives and to disseminate largely unknown information about tuberculosis among the population. In 1914 the sanctuary was converted into a foundation called the "Basler Heilstätte für Breastkranke in Davos-Dorf".
Architecture of the foundation building
The six-storey foundation building of the Basel sanatorium, located on a terrace-like hill next to Lake Davos, essentially consisted of a nine-axis longitudinal wing and two three-axis side wings on each end. These were five-axis in the side views. A wooden walkway covered a south-facing basement that was clearly in front of the house. The main entrance was not in the front view, but rather discreetly on the north-facing rear of the sanatorium. The roof landscape was also presented in three parts, although a pseudo central projection was indicated in the middle of the main view . In the steep, far-drawn roof construction, the windows of the upper two floors are partially designed as dormers . Originally eight chimneys further structured the roof. This design, more reminiscent of a hotel than a hospital , became the model for other famous lung sanatoriums, such as the Wienerwald sanatorium in Austria, and can be attributed to late historicism, more precisely to the Heimatstil .
The interwar period, Rudolf Gaberel and classical modernism
A defining Graubünden architect of classic modernism in the interwar period was Rudolf Gaberel (1882–1963) , who himself suffered from tuberculosis . As a German living in Davos, he was able to ideally realize his ideas of new building there . He further developed the ventilated flat roof that was introduced at the Schatzalp Sanatorium around 1900 , in which rainwater and meltwater is diverted centrally via the inside of the house, and promoted it as the ideal roof shape for the high mountain climate. Ventilated flat roofs and integrated self-supporting continuous sunbathing balconies soon became the landmark of the Davos townscape. Davos became a modern alpine city, from 1961 the Davos flat roof regulations for new buildings for the core zone came into force.
The most notable building by Gaberel in Davos is the doctor's house of the Thurgauisch-Schaffhausische Heilstätte and a two-family house on Tanzbühlstrasse in Davos Platz, the doctor's house of the Basel sanatorium, which was built in 1931. In addition to the ventilated, protruding flat roof, a risalit-like middle section with a veranda and loggia characterizes the appearance of the doctor's house.
In the mid-1940s, the existing beds were no longer sufficient to accommodate the Basel tuberculosis patients. In order to cope with this increasing demand for beds and to avoid a structural expansion of the sanatorium - because of the high costs - the "Commission on the Basler Heilstätte für Breastkranke in Davos" decided in 1945 to acquire the house "Castelmont" in Davos Dorf and for the one there Establishment of a branch of the sanatorium.
Reconstruction from 1950 to 1952
In the period from 1950 to 1952, the sanatorium was then rebuilt and expanded. The main purpose of this measure was to give the building - in addition to an improved infrastructure - a functional appearance in keeping with the zeitgeist. Mainly the heating center, the staff and administrators' house, the fourth floor, the roof (it was converted into a flat roof), the lounges, the dining room, the entrance and the entertainment room were expanded.
The sanatorium until 1971
Various medical achievements such as the BCG vaccine and antibiotics , especially penicillin , which appeared around 1950 , made it possible to fight tuberculosis ever better until it had lost its horror as an epidemic widespread disease in the second half of the 20th century . The restructuring of the clinic into a multi-purpose sanatorium began in the mid-1960s . In May 1966, the Federal Health Office had granted permission to run a department for non-tuberculous patients. The clinic was redesigned between 1967 and 1971. The construction of a new sister house was also completed.
In 1970 the sanatorium was included in the private hospital agreement with the cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft. In this way, she regularly received contributions towards the uncovered costs of 3rd class patients with general insurance assigned by these cantons.
In 1971 the "Basler Heilstätte for Breast Patients in Davos Dorf" was renamed "Basler Höhenklinik in Davos Dorf".
The decline
In the 1980s, the needs and tastes of the clientele changed. The house was felt to be dusty and old-fashioned, which resulted in a decline in occupancy. Now the board of trustees suddenly realized that they had to change the appearance and comfort of the clinic if they wanted to keep it reasonably competitive. In addition, the house suddenly received massive requirements from the authorities. A corresponding renovation project was estimated at around CHF 12 million. The two half-cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft would only have had to raise 4 million Swiss francs of this. However, they wanted to reduce the costs of the health service and were not prepared to raise the money for the traditional sanatorium. At a meeting on August 8, 1984, the Administrative Commission decided, willy-nilly, to cease operations during the second half of 1985. The Höhenklinik was finally closed on October 31, 1985 and sold on November 1 (!) 1985 to Carlton AG, Davos, who wanted to use the area for unknown tourist purposes. Instead, the sanatorium became a transit center for asylum seekers. Then a rehabilitation clinic for drug addicts and finally the patient rooms were rented out as apartments and the larger rooms as studios .
In 2006 a first draft of a hotel building was presented, which came from the architect Matteo Thun , but was never realized. After the resale to Stilli Park AG, demolition of the sanatorium began in summer 2007; the building site was cleared in the following spring. Between 2011 and 2013, the InterContinental Hotel was built according to new plans by Munich architects Oikios. Today only the entrance to the hotel, the Baslerstrasse, reminds of the time of the Basel sanatorium.
literature
- R. Schenk: History of the climatic health resort Davos as reflected in its daily journalism. University Press Dr. Brockmeyer, Bochum 1991
- Walter Staehlin: GGG - Ahead of its time. Ahead of the state. For the bicentenary of the Society for the Good and the Charitable Basel. Basel 1977
- Christoph Kübler: Against the hermetic magic. Rudolf Gaberel and Davos. Basler 1997, ISBN 978-3-905241-69-3
Web links
- PA 878 Archive of the Basler Höhenklinik Davos (until 1971 "Basler Heilstätte für Breastkranke in Davos"), 1896-1992 in the State Archives Basel-Stadt
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Basler Heilstätte for Breast Patients in Davos , Schweizerische Bauzeitung No. 29 (1897), pp. 30–32
- ↑ Media release of October 20, 2006: Feuring Group to Develop InterContinental Resort in Davos. (With illustration of the design by Matteo Thun) , accessed on December 3, 2014.