Beer cellar (Wiesloch)
The beer cellar in Wiesloch is a listed historic building that was opened as a tourist bar in 1909 and, after a checkered history as a dormitory, apartment building, courthouse and asylum seeker accommodation, has been home to the Agape hospice, funded by the Dietmar Hopp Foundation , since 2008 .
history
Construction as a guest house and apartment building
The beer cellar was built in 1909 on Heidelberger Chaussee above the old town of Wiesloch on the Chausseebuckel . At this vantage point along a well-frequented trunk road (today's B 3 ) there was previously a well-established, older restaurant of the same name. As a castle-like, three-storey building with a corner tower, the new building from 1909 also set urban accents at the northern entrance to the city.
On the lower floor was the actual business operation, which extended over a large hall that took up almost the entire floor but could be divided into several sections. The event area was facing Heidelberger Straße, the central area, separated by sliding walls, served as a club room, behind it was the dining room, and behind this was the kitchen area. There was also a toilet block on the ground floor. There were rental apartments on the second and third floors. The drinks, especially beer, were stored in the one-and-a-half-story cellar. The dining rooms were of high quality, the dining room was painted with wall paintings. Behind the building there was a garden terrace and a spacious garden with a playground.
The building owner was Karl Zorn, a local beer brewer who also ran the restaurant. The beer cellar was only in use as such for a few years, because the economic decline began as early as 1914 , when the First World War broke out , as the raw materials required for the brewery became scarce, there were many potential restaurant visitors in the field and the population barely had any funds. The economic crisis and inflation after the end of the war meant the end of the restaurant. The name Bierkeller has been retained for the building to the present day.
Dormitory, apartment building, official residence, asylum seeker accommodation
The building came into the possession of the Wiesloch sanatorium around 1920 , which furnished apartments for employees in it. In 1929/30, the state of Baden acquired the building and continued to use it to accommodate employees and as a guest house for guests of the facility. The building survived the Second World War unscathed and was still used for residential purposes until the 1970s, although the apartments were now outdated and not very attractive.
When the redevelopment of the Wiesloch district court was planned in 1977, the beer cellar was renovated and it was intended as the provisional seat of the district court. After the renovation had already started and around 160,000 DM had been invested, the state government issued a construction freeze in 1980. The accommodation of asylum seekers was temporarily under discussion before the district court moved into temporary accommodation in the beer cellar from 1981 to 1984 until the district court building was completed. Subsequently, the building was used from 1985 to 2004 to accommodate asylum seekers, for which the interior was redesigned a bit. Towards the end of the 1980s, the historic spire burned down and was then replaced by a greatly simplified construction.
After 2004 the building stood empty for some time. The bleak, run-down impression and the foreseeable high renovation costs deterred potential buyers. The outdoor facilities were also becoming increasingly neglected.
Hospice agape
In 2006, the building aroused the interest of the foundation of the entrepreneur and patron Dietmar Hopp , who was active in nearby Walldorf and intended to build a hospice in Walldorf or Wiesloch . Instead of a new building, it was decided to renovate and use the old beer cellar , not least because of its proximity to the landscape park of the psychiatric center and also because the foundation's managing director had previously drawn attention to the urban and art-historical importance of the listed building in another matter would have.
An operating company was founded to support the future facility, in which the cities of Wiesloch and Walldorf hold 51 percent, the Hospizhilfe Südliche Bergstrasse 40 percent and the Psychiatric Center North Baden 9 percent. The Dietmar Hopp Foundation acquired the building and financed the renovation, which was carried out according to plans by the Walldorf architects Vorfelder. In addition to the full development of the Altabus and a bright and friendly interior, the main focus of the renovation was the restoration of the original shape of the building and its tower, as well as the preservation or reconstruction of as many original fittings as possible, such as historical floors, doors, railings and fittings. In addition, a modern three-storey access wing and a glass staircase with an intermediate building were added. The cost of land acquisition and construction came to around 7 million euros. On the ground floor, office space was rented to Evangelical Adult Education, the Evangelical Dean's Office and the School Dean's Office, as well as the Ecumenical Hospice Aid, in order to cover the foreseeable operating deficit.
The facility was inaugurated on February 22, 2008 under the new name Hospiz Agape . By July 2008, the facility had already reached 83 percent utilization. The 44 guests admitted up to then had an average stay of 18 days. In the guest rooms, emphasis is placed on simple but elegant comfort. The room of silence, laid out as a wooden rotunda , is available as a prayer room . Full-time carers and voluntary dying attendants work in the house.
literature
- Karin Hirn: The changeful (construction) history of the Wiesloch beer cellar , in: Kurpfälzer Winzerfestanzeiger, 2008 edition, pp. 60–70.
- Karin Hirn: The changing history of the legal system and buildings , in: Kurpfälzer Winzerfestanzeiger, 1993 edition, p. 70.
- Volker Kronemeyer: The Wiesloch inns: Places of Sociability , in: Kurpfälzer Winzerfestanzeiger, 1993 edition, p. 16ff.
Coordinates: 49 ° 18 '0.2 " N , 8 ° 41' 58.8" E