Deaconess Home (Bratislava)
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The deaconess home in Bratislava was founded in 1891 and liquidated in 1951. Since 2007, the reopening of the mostly dilapidated building has been underway.
Start of diaconal work in Bratislava
Under the influence of Pietism , organized diakonia of the evangelical community began in Bratislava in the 18th century .
The first institution of this kind is the “Jeszenáksche Konvikt”, which was founded on January 15, 1750 by the Princely Eszterházy property director Johann Jeszenák de Kiralyfia. This foundation, also known as the “Kleines Alumneum”, granted six poor pupils of the Pressburg Evangelical Lyceum free food and accommodation.
On May 2, 1762 the doctor Andreas Herrmann donated a considerable amount (6000 and later another 10,000 guilders) for the establishment of a home for poor "fatherless and motherless orphans, children of the German nation". In the course of the following years, the orphanage for boys received various donations from several community benefactors. In 1794 an apartment for 16 boys was set up in the "Jeszenák House" on the Nonnenbahn (Slov. Panenská ul.). In 1805 the girls' department of the orphanage was opened for 12 girls through the generous donation of the Bratislava patrician Johann Adam Zechmeister and his wife. This girls' orphanage was taken over by the Diakonieanstalt in 1892.
The Evangelical Hospital ("Krankeninstitut") goes back to the foundation of the Pressburg citizen Andreas Posch, who left a legacy of 2000 guilders for "poor sick people" on July 17, 1799. But it wasn't until 1807 that the community decided to set up a sick room with two beds for Protestant maids. J. could be opened. The care of this small infirmary was initially taken over by a paid nurse, the doctors did their service free of charge. Of course, this capacity was far from sufficient, so that expansions had to be made as early as 1810, 1811 and 1824. Financing came from numerous donations from charitable citizens of Pressburg, but also from donations that the wife of Archduke Joseph (the then Palatine of Hungary ) and benefactor of the Pressburg community, Maria Dorothea von Württemberg, regularly donated. Due to the constant lack of space, it was decided in 1827 to build a new building on the nunnery, which was expanded to a two-story building in 1830. This created an occupancy room for 20 beds. In 1872 there was a new extension on the Palisadenweg (slow. Palisády), which was built on the rear side of the existing hospital on the nuns' railway. This new complex was inaugurated on July 28, 1872 by Superintendent Ludwig Geduly (1815–1890). With the introduction of the Diakonissenanstalt, the hospital passed into the administration of this institution in 1897.
Foundation of the deaconess institution in Pressburg
In the former Kingdom of Hungary , the establishment of a deaconess home was relatively late on fertile ground. Spurred on by the charitable appearance of Catholic orders , the Protestant parishes of old Hungary also started thinking about establishing similar but Protestant organizations.
In Preßburg it was the German parish priest Viktor Freytag (1843–1890) and later his successor Gustav Ebner (1848–1910) who dealt in detail with the question of diakonia and its introduction in Preßburg. At Ebner's instigation, the Evangelical Church Community AB in Preßburg , following the example of German parishes, decided on October 5, 1890 to found a deaconess house. A founding commission was brought into being by the convention and the introduction of a house collection was ordered, which brought in an amount of 4,329 guilders and 39 kreuzers. From the beginning the intention was to set up the institute in such a way that it would later “be called to one day become a parent company for all of Hungary.” This plan, propagated in a leaflet at the time, was actually implemented later.
Since one in Bratislava so far had no experience with deaconesses, is pastor Ebner turned to his colleague Senior Ludwig Schwarz (1833-1910) from the Diakonie Gallneukirchen . This small market town in Upper Austria is still the seat of the most important mother house of Protestant deaconesses in Austria .
The Gallneukirchen deaconess mother house was happy to help. In the spring of 1891 two (first) sisters, Therese Maier and Ida von Sääf, were sent to Pressburg from there. The beginnings were of course very humble. They lived in a room that had been poorly furnished by Pastor Ebner in the rectory (formerly "Kaplanei") on the nunnery. The actual official opening only took place when the head nurse Elisabeth Obermeir, who was sent from Vienna , took office . On August 2, 1891, the inauguration of the sisters and the official opening of the institution took place as part of an afternoon service. The speeches were given by Ludwig Schwarz, who had traveled from Gallneukirchen, and Pastor Gustav Ebner. Right at the beginning of its existence, the institution was able to accept three trial sisters (novices); these were Katharina Pauer and Paula Halper from Preßburg and Marie Lenhardt from Limbach .
The aim of the Diakonieanstalt was to train nurses for nursing in the in-house clinic, but also for services outside the clinic. The training of the sisters was initially the responsibility of the three German pastors of the parish, who also had to hold the house devotions. The later inspector of the community Matthias Dobrovits (1850-1919) took over the medical instruction . The exemplary house rules of the Stuttgart parent company , which also apply in Gallneukirchen, were introduced as house rules, but these were slightly modified. The main idea behind the house rules was to present the mother house and the deaconesses as organs of the Protestant church. On June 9, 1895, pastor and later senior Carl Eugen Schmidt took over the spiritual direction of the Diakonissenanstalt. Pastor Schmidt performed this work - in addition to his extensive work as a parish priest and senior - up to 1942 on a voluntary basis and without additional financial compensation. Carl Eugen Schmidt is certainly one of the most important theological figures who shaped Lutheranism for almost half a century not only in Pressburg, but also in the entire country. Not only did he have a lasting impact on community life in Pressburg, but also on social welfare throughout Slovakia . "The Reformation message of free grace in Christ Jesus and the diaconal service of merciful love flowing from it formed the ultimate meaning of my poor life's work" - this is how he summed up his life story in his own words.
In the course of time the sisters expanded their activities; In 1892 the management of the orphanage was also taken over, in 1900 an own bookshop was opened, in 1905 a women's refuge was added. Because the deaconess profession suffered from a shortage of workers, a leaflet in German, Hungarian and Slovak was created in 1904, which was intended to promote the deaconess profession within the community.
Gradually, the Bratislava parent company set up outstations in various cities in Old Hungary . The first was set up in Ödenburg in 1895 . This was followed by stations in Eperies (1898), Güns and Rosenau (1899), Leutschau (1903), Modern and Kesmark (1904), Raab (1910) etc. Up to the First World War , the Pressburg House had a total of 13 outstations in various cities in the Monarchy .
Than the previous matron Elisabeth upper Meier was discharged into retirement in 1902, which came from the Zips originating sister Mathilde Billnitzer from parent Neuendettelsau to Bratislava, where she was appointed matron of the house Bratislava on 15 July 1906th
New construction of the deaconess home on Palisadenweg
By the end of the 19th century, the existing motherhouse on the Nonnenbahn (at that time No. 23) proved to be too small. Therefore, the parish had to consider a new building. The parish intended to purchase property no. 4688 in the “Wölferl” corridor on Palisadenweg as a building site. On November 23, 1899, the Royal Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture in Budapest sent a letter to Károly Neiszidler , Member of the Hungarian Diet responsible for Pressburg , from which it can be seen that the parish (= approx. 5208 m²) of building land against the purchase of 1458 square fathoms ( at the price of 6 guilders / square fathom) there are no concerns. The municipality therefore paid approx. 8,750 guilders (= 17,500 kroner), a considerable sum for the time.
But the municipality did not have sufficient financial means for the construction. The construction was delayed by almost 15 years. In spite of foundations and donations, especially through the Gustav-Adolf-Werk and the Martin-Luther-Bund , only moderate progress was made financially. The parishioners were repeatedly called for donations. This is how the community magazine Der Friedensbote (born in 1904/1905, p. 74) described the poor financial situation of the community and called for donations. Literally it said: “... for the urgently needed new building of the parent company. With a lot of effort, 23 441 Kronen 11 Heller have come together up to now. But what is that! This means that hardly the roof structure of the new parent company has been paid for. "
In 1910, it finally seemed that the time had come for planning work to begin. A “building program for the deaconess house, orphanage and hospital of the Protestant parish AB zu Pozsony” was drawn up. Accordingly, three independent units should arise, namely:
- Deaconess Mother House
- Orphanage
- hospital
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Deaconess Mother House
The deaconess mother house was to be erected as the main building on the parcel to be determined by the community, parallel with its main front to the Palisadenweg, as a two-story functional building. Living rooms with ancillary rooms for 35 sisters and 15 retirees are to be designed. In addition, a “church-style” prayer room (chapel) with space for around 80 people was to be built. The utility rooms (kitchen, laundry room, etc.) are located in the basement (basement).
Orphanage
The orphanage can be built directly onto the motherhouse, but should be aligned parallel to the then Kornhuber Weg (Slov. Bradlianska ul.), I.e. opposite the Gaistor cemetery . It will also be designed as a two-story building and offer sleeping, day and ancillary rooms for 50 orphans (25 boys and 25 girls).
hospital
The hospital was to have an organic connection with the two complexes mentioned above, but it was to be built as a stand-alone, one-story building parallel to Vutkovich Weg (later Vegelin Weg, now Partizánska ul.). It should have a men's and a women's section, each of which could accommodate 20 sick people. An operating theater, treatment rooms, laboratory and other ancillary rooms were also planned.
Planning work, building completion and inauguration
The building complex was to be built in the shape of a horseshoe, enclosing a courtyard with a garden in the upper area. The three units of the building complex had to meet the most modern technical requirements; The equipment already included elevators, central heating for all rooms, and running cold and warm water. In the construction program, which formed the basis of the tender, all necessary specifications were given in detail and described accordingly.
For the planning of the building complex, based on the strict guidelines drawn up by the “Parish Committee for the Construction of the Diakonissenheim”, a national public architecture competition was advertised, in which 13 architectural offices from the entire Kingdom of Hungary took part. Most of the individual offers were submitted anonymously, only with a keyword.
On May 10, 1911, the Ev. Lyceums the opening of the offer. A committee of seven - made up of church representatives and relevant construction experts (including A. Feigler) - took part. The then inspector of the Pressburg Evangelical Church Congregation, Matthias Dobrovits, chaired the meeting. After evaluating the offers, a second meeting took place on May 21, 1911, in which the individual offers were evaluated and the result of the submission announced. The first three works also received financial prizes and awards. According to the protocol of the “Committee for the Construction of the Deaconess House” of the Preßburger Ev. Parish the order was as follows:
- The architect Gyula (Julius) Schmidt, Budapest , won the first prize and received a prize of 1500 crowns.
- The second prize went to the architects János (Johann) Papp, Junior and Béla Heintz, Budapest, with a bonus of 1000 crowns
- The third prize with a bonus of 500 crowns went to the architect Robert Fleischl, Budapest.
The first-placed architect, Gyula Schmidt (1879–1915) was commissioned to carry out the planning.
Gyula Schmidt originally estimated the construction costs for the deaconess home to be 470,000 crowns. As it turned out later, however, this cost estimate was far exceeded, the actual costs amounted to around 750,000 kroner, a large part of which had to be financed through loans from the “First Pressburg Savings Bank” (“Első Pozsonyi Takarékpénztár”). In return, the Evangelical Congregation of Pressburg received an exemplary deaconess home that was unparalleled in the entire Kingdom of Hungary at that time. It had a model character, from here the evangelical diakonia spread to all of Old Hungary.
The foundation stone was ceremonially laid in autumn 1912 and construction work began immediately. Countless companies from Hungary, but also from Austria and Germany, were involved in the construction and furnishing of the building . The concrete and civil engineering work was carried out by the renowned Pressburg company "Pittel & Brausewetter" (founded in 1872) from Blumenthaler Gasse 13. The figural decoration of the building (reliefs above the portals etc.) was designed by the famous Bratislava sculptor Alois Rigele .
In the spring of 1914, before the outbreak of the First World War, the construction work was completed. On Sunday Jubilate, May 3, 1914, the building was inaugurated. The day began with three festive services. In the German festival service in the large German Evangelical Church, the President of the Bavarian Lutheran Church and former Rector of the Deaconess Mother House of Neuendettelsau D. Dr. Hermann von Bezzel The solemn sermon on Joh 16,22 LUT . In the simultaneous festival service in the small church on the nunnery , pastor Ľudovít Žigmund Seberini, who had traveled from Békéscsaba ( Békés county ) - also “Szeberényi” (1859–1941) preached in Slovak on Joh 13,34–36 Lut . In the Hungarian language, the Protestant bishop of the church district for Transdanubia, Ferenc Gyurátz (1841–1925) , finally preached on Ps 118,24-25 LUT again in the Great Church . Senior Carl Eugen Schmidt and the bishop for Zisdanubien Friedrich Baltik (1834–1919), who subsequently also consecrated the building, held the keynote speeches.
Immediately after this ceremonial opening, deaconesses moved into the new building and happily went to work. Unfortunately, this joy did not last long, as the First World War broke out only two months after the opening of the new house . As a result of these events, the economic situation in the deaconess home became increasingly difficult, food became scarcer and, above all, more expensive. But there were always donors who supported the institution financially and materially. Soon after the war began, not only the hospital but also the motherhouse was overcrowded with the sick and wounded. The motherhouse immediately made 10 deaconesses available to the Red Cross to care for the wounded. This miserable state of affairs lasted until the collapse of the Danube Monarchy in 1918.
The situation between the two world wars
After the defeat of Austria-Hungary and the proclamation of the first Czecho-Slovak Republic (Č-SR), difficult times came for the deaconess institution. Not only the community, but also the charities faced not only economic but also political difficulties. The newly founded state intended to requisition the parent company on Palisadenweg in order to set up the management of the (yet to be founded) state railways. This struggle dragged on until the late 1920s, when the Evangelical Congregation AB finally managed, with extreme effort, to avert this danger.
After the collapse of the Danube Monarchy, the old Hungarian Evangelical Church AB also ceased to exist. This fact had serious consequences for the Pressburg Lutherans. In 1919 Vavro Šrobár , the head of the "Ministry with Authority for the Administration of Slovakia", ordered the establishment of a General Council of Churches (Slov. "Generálna rada"), which directed the fortunes of the Church. Two districts (church districts for eastern and western Slovakia) were formed, each headed by a bishop. Those in charge of the German Preßburg congregation learned this fact from the newspaper. In addition, the office of General Bishop was created to lead church life throughout Slovakia. This classification was in 1921 by the General Synod of Trentschin Teplitz confirmed (slow. Trenčianske Teplice) and consists up to the present.
→ see the article German Evangelical Church Community AB zu Preßburg
The numerically strong German Lutherans in Bratislava could not come to terms with this new situation, at the Synod of Trenčín Teplitz the German and Hungarian synodals, under the leadership of Pastor Schmidt, demanded the establishment of an independent church district. Above all, they feared that over time the Slovaks would dominate them in a common community. However, this request was initially rejected at the synod. Since a separation without the division of the church assets, which are predominantly in German hands, did not seem feasible, there were considerable tensions in property law. Ultimately, a solution that was satisfactory for both sides was found. In 1923, the two previous Bratislava seniorate (town and country) were dissolved and a new German (with a Hungarian minority) and a new Slovak seniorate were formed. The church property was divided accordingly. However, the community's love institutions and thus also the deaconess home remained (until 1945) the property of the German Evangelical Church Community AB Preßburg. In the same year, at the suggestion of Pastor Schmidt, the German Parish Association was founded, which was open to all German-speaking pastors in Slovakia.
With God's help, the work in the deaconess institution could not only be continued, but even expanded to include new areas of work. After the previous director of the hospital Hofrat Adalbert Tauscher died, the well-known surgeon Gustav Szamak was appointed to the institute. From 1920, Szamak was first head of the newly established surgical department and later also chief physician of the entire hospital.
The work of the deaconesses flourished again; in 1930 the motherhouse had 58 sisters (46 consecrated sisters, three sisters on probation, five novices and four auxiliary sisters). Many of you also worked outside the parent company in the most varied of quarters of Pressburg, some were also sent to more remote locations in Slovakia.
In 1930 a new statute was created for the Diakonie in Pressburg. The top management consisted of a 24-member supervisory board, in which women were recently also represented. The spiritual direction of the mother house, however, continued to be incumbent on the senior of the Pressburg parish Carl Eugen Schmidt.
Due to the results of the war, the Pressburg parent company was no longer able to maintain contacts with the partner houses (especially Hungary) outside the borders of the new Č-SR (especially Hungary) in the usual way. In 1935 the deaconess mother house in Raab, Hungary (Hungarian Győr) celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of its founding. Pastor Heinrich Pröhle and Matron Mathilde Billnitzer from the Pressburg community were able to take part in order to convey the greetings of the Pressburg community. It was the Pressburg motherhouse that in 1910 sent two sisters (later superior Etelka Huber and Auguste Frühwirt) to found the deaconess home, which was called "Szeretetház" (German: "House of Christian Love"), "Obstetrics" performed.
On December 8, 1935, the Slovak deaconess mother house "Betánia" in Liptau St. Nikolaus (Slov. Liptovský Svätý Mikuláš) was ceremoniously opened. The Slovakian Zuzana Matheidesz-ová (1879–1960), who had been trained in the German Preßburg motherhouse since 1903 and was also consecrated as a deaconess there in 1910, became the first superior. The Pressburg Deaconess Home also provided development assistance in the training of numerous other Slovak deaconesses who later worked in various regions of Slovakia.
At the end of the 30s of the 20th century, the Preßburger Diakonissenanstalt proved to be too small. Therefore the parish decided to raise the motherhouse by one floor; the old sisters who were already retired were to be housed here. The architect Christian Ludwig and the builder Stefan Elefánty were commissioned with the construction . On May 29, 1939, the spiritual director of the institution, senior senior Carl Eugen Schmidt inaugurated the new structure at a ceremony. At that time the Pressburg mother house housed around 60 sisters.
On the eve of the Second World War and probably under the influence of the then Europe-wide dominance of the Third Reich , the German Lutherans living in Slovakia wanted to realize a long-cherished wish. They applied for dismissal from the association of the Slovak Evangelical Church AB On June 14, 1939, the "Separation Act" was passed at the Synod in Liptau St. Nicholas, according to which all Lutherans with the German tongue resigned from the old regional church. The aim was to found a self-sufficient, independent German Evangelical Church AB in Slovakia, which should unite all German parishes under one roof. With the help of the incumbent German church authorities, a corresponding church constitution was drawn up, which was adopted by two church synods in Kesmark (Slov. Kežmarok) in 1939 and (later) also approved by the Slovak government. A festive church service on June 27, 1939 in the wooden church in Kesmark, at which the head of the external office of the German Evangelical Church, Bishop Theodor Heckel from Berlin , gave the festive sermon, was the culmination of these independence efforts. With this act, an independent German Evangelical Church AB was established in Slovakia
The Second World War and the time after
Despite the terrible events of the war , the situation in Slovakia was fairly calm until 1944. A large part of the Slovaks felt the new independence of the state, even if it was under the power of Hitler's Germany, as definitely something positive. Many saw in this the fulfillment of centuries-old longings for national independence of the Slovaks. Of course, the Germans living in Slovakia also benefited from this relative calm. The situation only changed after the uprising in 1944 and even more so at the end of the war in 1945.
After the end of the Second World War, the pre-war political situation was restored with the re-establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic (ČSR). On April 4, 1945 , the new government consisting of politicians in exile was constituted in Košice . On April 5, 1945, the so-called "Government Program of Košice" (Slov. "Košický vládny program") was enacted, in which the guidelines for future policy, as well as the future handling of the German minority in the Czechoslovakia, became apparent. As early as August 3, 1945, the “Separation Act” from 1939 was annulled by a resolution of the Slovak National Council (1943–1992; Slovenská národná rada). The independence of the German Evangelical Church AB in Slovakia fell apart after six years of activity. This restored the situation as it had existed before 1939. The German churches and the entire church property came under the administrative sovereignty of the Slovak Evangelical Church AB. The Pressburg mother house was also affected by this regulation.
Many Germans fled to the West before the Red Army occupied Bratislava (or they were later driven out on the basis of the “ Beneš Decrees ”). Among the refugees were also numerous German deaconesses who made their way back to Gallneukirchen, Austria. A large part, especially the older sisters, remained in the Pressburg deaconess home. The former head of the institution Carl Eugen Schmidt was looked after here until his death in 1948. Pastor Heinrich Pröhle nevertheless found a new home here. Mathilde Billnitzer was forced to give up her position as superior of the institution. From the mother house in Liptau St. Nikolaus five Slovak deaconesses under the direction of Zuzana Matheidesz-ová (the last superior of the institution) were ordered to Pressburg to take over the regiment in the local mother house. Gustav Szamak, the chief physician of the deaconess house clinic, who had been tried and tested for many years and was extremely popular, was dismissed without notice in 1946 without giving any reason, his property was requisitioned and his villa above the deaconess house (on Wegelin Weg) was nationalized. Despite this caesura, the hospital was able to continue working relatively undisturbed until 1948; eight doctors and sixteen deaconesses were still active here during this period. The Slovak priest Ondrej Bartko was entrusted with the spiritual direction of the house.
The time of communist rule
In February 1948, the communists came to power in what was then the ČSR . The country was declared a "people's democracy" and came under the influence of Stalin's Soviet Union . This also began the persecution and harassment of the Christian churches. On the basis of Act No. 185/1948 from 1948, a decree was issued by the Ministry of the Interior, which ordered that the Pressburg Diaconal Hospital was to be nationalized from January 1, 1949. Although the law originally only referred to the clinic, which only made up about a quarter of the total building area, the now communist state intended de facto to nationalize the entire property. The most difficult time in the history of Diakonie Pressburg had begun. With the removal of the hospital, the church's struggle against the nationalization of its facilities began over several years. The Evangelical Church also tried to protect its institutions from access by the state by judicial means, but in vain. The court dismissed the claims. It was ordered to hand over the entire building to the state. March 7, 1950 was set as the first date for the takeover. A day before the then ordered General Bishop of the Slovak Evangelical Church A. B . Vladimír Pavol Čobrda (1880–1969) that the church should not be present at the handover. This prevented the state commission from taking possession of the building. The takeover was delayed again for a whole year. Čobrda, an upright and upright man of the Church, was sharply criticized for his attitude and in 1951 forced to resign from his office as Bishop General. He fell out of favor with the Communists, was harassed and later ended up in prison. On February 21, 1951, the health authorities ordered the house to be vacated immediately and to be handed over to the state on March 5, 1951. This sealed the fate of the Pressburg deaconess home.
The process of the final liquidation of the diakonia had begun. The communists invoked another law from 1948, which ordered the compulsory dissolution of all associations, including the Association of the Slovak Evangelical Diakonie. During this period the Slovak Evangelical Church AB lost all diaconal institutions not only in Bratislava, but in the whole of Slovakia. The deaconesses were forced to take off their costume if they had not already done so voluntarily - under the impression of the terrible fate of the Catholic nuns. If they wanted to keep their livelihood, they had to agree to a “voluntary” transfer to community service.
The German deaconesses who remained in Pressburg, mostly older sisters, found shelter in the “Evangelical Care House” (old people's home) in Josephigasse (Slov. Jozefská ul.), Which was still donated by Superintendent Ludwig Geduly in 1885. This is where these veteran deaconesses passed the last days of their lives. The former, now almost 80-year-old superior of the deaconess home, Mathilde Billnitzer, was also accommodated in this home.
New beginning after the fall of the Wall in 1989
The fall of the communist regime in East Central Europe and the reunification of Germany at the end of the 1980s meant a new beginning for the Evangelical Church AB and the Slovak Diakonie. In accordance with Act 108/1991 of the collection of laws and the constitutional resolutions of the Evangelical Church AB in Slovakia, the Evangelical Diakonie was (newly) created as a special purpose institution of the Evangelical Church AB as a legal person on November 30, 1991. The deaconess home in Bratislava was - in a totally desolate condition - taken back into possession by the Slovak Evangelical Church AB. Under the motto “We give meaning and dignity back to tradition ”, it is to be expanded into a “Evangelical House of Pastoral Care”. The chapel of the deaconess home was reconstructed and rededicated in spring 2007 after 56 years of misuse.
Deaconesses from Germany also played a prominent role in the revival of Evangelical Diakonia in Slovakia. The sisters Barbara Haug, Marie-Luise Rieger, Helene Brändle and the nurse Anne-Rose Schwarz rendered self-sacrificing services in the revival of diaconal work. They tirelessly visited individual evangelical congregations throughout Slovakia and encouraged and motivated the believers to serve their neighbor.
literature
- CE Schmidt , S. Markusovßky, G. Ebner: History of the Evangelical Church Community AB zu Preßburg , 2 Bde., Pozsony 1906.
- Roland Steinacker , Desider Alexy: 350 years of the Evangelical Church in Preßburg. Stuttgart 1956.
- Anton Klipp: On the history of diakonia in Preßburg. In: Karpatenjahrbuch 2009, Stuttgart 2008, p. 56ff, ISBN 978-80-89264-20-9 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gyula Schmidt was a young architect who, after studying at the Technical University of Budapest, traveled almost all over the world in order to expand his knowledge in the field of architecture. In Bombay he fell ill with malaria and returned to Budapest in 1907 in poor health. He then worked as a freelance architect and gave lessons at the Budapest Building Polytechnic. Schmidt died in 1915, only 36 years old, from the consequences of his malaria disease, which was not completely cured. The experiences with modern architecture that Schmidt gained in New York flowed into the plans for the Preßburger deaconess home . This futuristic trend is particularly noticeable in the building equipment, which was exemplary for the time . Unfortunately, the Preßburger Diakonissenheim remained the only significant building by this certainly very talented and early deceased architect.