Buildings on the sand
The buildings on the sand in Tübingen were originally built as an on- site hospital. Today they are mostly used by the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen .
history
The buildings were planned and built as a site hospital for the German Wehrmacht from 1935 onwards. From 1945 to 1982 they served as a French supply hospital, then until 1986 as a reserve hospital for the German Armed Forces. From 1986 to 1990 they served various tasks and in 1990 they were made available to the University of Tübingen.
On-site hospital
Following the enactment of the “Law for the Development of the Wehrmacht” in 1935, a site hospital was planned in Tübingen, initially as an extension to the Mathildenstrasse 2 hospital site, which was then used as barracks. At the suggestion of Mayor Adolf Scheef , the Army High Command decided in 1936 to build a new one of the military hospital with 200 beds on the sand instead of an extension in a densely populated area, which is why four architects were asked to design a realization. Ultimately, the design by the architect Hans Herkommer from Stuttgart was selected.
Before construction began, there were only fruit trees on the ridge of the Sand, which is almost 300 m wide and 90 m above the valley floor. The building should deliberately appear as a large building in the cityscape and landscape and have a beautiful view. In the course of the construction planning, the city of Tübingen carried out expropriations. In April 1937 the development of the site began, the completion of the building as well as the handover and inauguration took place on February 19, 1940.
At the beginning of the war, the site hospital was used to care for the wounded from the French campaign. Towards the end of the war, the 200-bed clinic had to offer space for 700 patients.
hospital
After the Second World War, the French occupied the military hospital and used it as a military hospital under the name " Emile Roux " (co-founder of the Pasteur Institute, diphtheria serum). The east wing was as brain injuries - rehabilitation center used for adults (care hospital). The 70 beds in the rehabilitation center were mostly fully occupied until it was closed in 1986, which is why the VdK has often spoken out in favor of an expansion. In 1972 a gymnastics room was set up in the north wing, which could also be used by the German clinic. Three years later, in 1975, there were plans for a Franco-German brain injury hospital, but these were quickly rejected.
On September 1, 1982, the French withdrew after the "Emile Roux" had been closed. Surprisingly, Defense Command 54 moved into the vacant space, but initially only needed half of the space. The supply hospital could not move into any further rooms due to a lack of the necessary funds, the University of Tübingen was interested, but the plans failed due to excessive rental and repair costs.
The Bundeswehr planned to set up a reserve hospital with 2,000 beds and put these plans into practice in mid-1983 despite violent demonstrations by the Tübingen population. From 1984 the government planned to close the brain injured hospital due to the financial situation. There were then fierce political discussions and especially the VdK and the Tübingen Doctors' Initiative against the War campaigned for the hospital to continue to exist. Although the west wing and the central wing of the building complex were practically empty, the hospital was not expanded.
The state government decided on January 24, 1985 to close the hospital on December 31, 1986, whereupon there were again many discussions until the state parliament decided to close it on March 27, 1985.
The university was not interested this time, as there was “too high an emotional value and too little value of the building fabric”. The DIFF (German Institute for Distance Learning) applied for the middle wing. This was almost certainly promised when the Bundeswehr was finally awarded it in 1985 for the further expansion of the reserve hospital. In May 1986, the Neckar-Alb support for the physically handicapped expressed an interest in taking over the hospital, but the Council of Ministers decided to close the hospital for good in June 1986.
Since the Bundeswehr did not need any further expansion of the reserve hospital, a department of the CDI (Control Data Institute) moved into the vacant rooms on February 2, 1987. In October 1989 the former chapel of the dead was offered as “Atelier and Office” in “Monuments for sale between Neckar and Lake Constance” at a price of DM 300,000.
At the time of the housing shortage among students in November 1989, the city feared that the vacant rooms would be occupied, as demands for new dormitories, including in the sand buildings, were loud. A little later, therefore, the construction of new dormitories began.
University location
In 1990 the CDI left the sand again and the newly established Wilhelm-Schickard-Institut partially moved into the former rooms of the CDI. In 2001 and 2002, additional rooms for the Bundeswehr were vacated, so that the previous IT locations in Morgenstelle and Köstlinstrasse could also move into the sand. Later, astronomy and finally criminology moved in.
architecture
Works of art
As was usual during the Nazi era, not only the functionality of the building was in the foreground, but also the artistic design as a magnificent building, which was of great importance. B. prove the following two quotations:
- “A decent shaping of the entrance hall and fine artistic consideration of the entire structure is required. When it comes to artistic design, the hospital will appear together with many other buildings as an expression of the style of German rebirth. "( Hermann Distel , 1939 in" Deutsche Bauzeitung ")
- "... and when the large building on the sand is in its completion, then not only will every single worker look at the work with satisfaction, but Tübingen, and indeed the whole country, will consider themselves fortunate to be richer for such a monumental building." (Senior medical officer Dr. Straub in a speech at the topping-out ceremony)
Entrance portal
The entrance portal indicates the original purpose of the building complex with two 170 cm wide and 200 cm high bas-reliefs depicting wounded soldiers and a doctor treating them. The zeitgeist of that time is expressed through the simple lines, the martial faces and the muscular body.
Main entrance
The front of the main entrance is surrounded by an ornamental, symmetrical relief, which is interrupted in its center by the Aesculapian serpent as a symbol of the doctors. The door surrounds left and right men on the way to recovery, whose physical performance is restored through exercise (gymnastics, javelin and discus throwing). The grapevines in the background indicate the location in the Tübingen-Rottenburg wine-growing region.
- Main entrance
frontal
left inside
right inside
Foyer, 1st floor
The glass cutting shops show the coats of arms of the Tübingen, Reutlingen, Böblingen and Horb districts. Originally, the windows were installed in the entrance hall (or hall of honor). They are each 70 cm high and are made of a plexiglass-like material.
- District glass mills in the foyer, 1st floor
Tübingen
Reutlingen
Boeblingen
Horb
Entrance hall (hall of honor)
The entrance hall is clad with Stockbirger marble and served as the flagship of the hospital. There used to be a black bronze bust of Adolf Hitler and an emblem embossed in copper. On the walls, directly under the ceiling, is the inscription:
“By believing in Germany we will master fate. Whoever loves his people proves it only through the sacrifices he is prepared to make for them. "
As part of the complete renovation of the building, the inscription was discreetly colored so that it is barely visible today. Since the spring of 2009, an information board has been pointing out by resolution of the Senate of the University of Tübingen that the university is distancing itself from the atrocities of the Nazi era and the ideology expressed by the inscription.
garden
In the garden on the south side there is a sculpture of a resting warrior with a sword based on images of the wounded Achilles . Since March 2012, part of the garden has been used for the student project "Biochar".
literature
- City archive of Tübingen, newspaper clippings about the supply hospital
- Tübinger Blätter , 31st year 1940
- Contributions to the recent and recent history of the Tübingen garrison , Defense District Command 54, 1995
- Ulrich Köpf ; Manfred Grohe; University of Tübingen .: "Fountain of Life," Places of Science. A tour through 525 years of the University of Tübingen. Schwäbisches Tagblatt, Tübingen © 2002, ISBN 978-3-928011-48-8 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from August 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ www.klimagarten.uni-tuebingen.de
Web links
- Schwäbisches Tagblatt: Old Views from the Tübingen District ( Memento from June 12, 2002 in the Internet Archive )
Coordinates: 48 ° 32 ′ 5 " N , 9 ° 4 ′ 16" E