Harzgerode Sanatorium
The sanatorium Harzgerode was a 1928-1931, designed by the architect Godehard Schwethelm built sanatorium , in the 1931-1998 first tuberculosis were treated and later other lung diseases of children. The building ensemble includes the main building, a nursery, two medical residences, the chief physician's villa, an isolation ward, a school building and a gatehouse. The ensemble, designed in the style of the New Building , is a listed building .
location
The Harzgerode sanatorium is located north of the town of Harzgerode on a 21-hectare park-like plot of land, which is enclosed as a clearing by coniferous and deciduous forest. Several hiking trails lead along the site.
architecture
Schwethelm tried to bring childlike lightness into a simple functional building with playful shapes, such as round windows and rooms, artistically etched panes and curved lines. Characteristic of the sanatorium are the long balconies in front of the patient rooms on the south and east sides of the building, which could also be reached by bedridden children through floor-to-ceiling windows. The two bed wings south and east are connected in the middle by a four-sided central building, in which the functional rooms were.
The Harzgerode sanatorium was the first major project by the young architect Godehard Schwethelm, who later u. a. also designed the deaconess mother house in Elbingerode. Everywhere in the building you can find the typical signature of the architect in the general design and in small structural details, such as a chimney made of roof tiles. While one wing of the ensemble was renovated in the 1990s, many of the original components are still present in the old building.
Use as a children's health center
At that time, air and sunlight were supposed to cure the children of their lung ailments. From 1931 to 1998 the Harzgerode sanatorium was operated as a children's sanatorium for tuberculosis and as a health clinic for lung diseases. The sanatorium offered space for 150 young patients and 150 employees, most of whom lived on the premises. Lung operations were performed in two operating rooms. Up until the 1990s, light and air continued to play a major role in curing lung diseases. In addition, there were opportunities for long walks on the premises and lying cures on the balconies of the sanatorium.
In 1950 the sanatorium received its own special school, and in the 1980s, instead of the school barracks, a multi-class school building.
After 1990, it was classified as a building worthy of its architectural history. In a few years around eleven million DM were invested in renovation , modernization and medical technology, two million DM alone for the latest technology for X-ray diagnostics and laboratory equipment. In view of the falling number of admissions from 1991 onwards, a spokesman for the Ministry of Social Affairs of the state government of Saxony-Anhalt announced that the clinic would be closed at the end of the year. Parents of the children affected founded an "Initiative to maintain the Harzgerode Specialized Children's Hospital". Almost 17,000 signatures were collected in the region for the preservation of the sanatorium. City council, district council and state parliament campaigned for continued operation. In 1996, another 10,000 signatures were collected to keep the clinic. Despite the protests, the final closure was announced in December 1997. As of September 30, 1998, the 89 employees were dismissed. Then there were numerous attempts to put the system into a new use.
Todays use
Since 2018 the community "in the Heilstätte Harzgerode eG" has been living on the site and is gradually expanding it as an ecovillage , event and seminar location. Guided tours are offered on request.
literature
- Falko Grubitzsch: The Harzgerode Children's Hospital . From an architectural concept to combat a common epidemic to a modern clinic . In: Preservation of monuments in Saxony-Anhalt , year 1996, issue 2, pp. 140–155.
- Friedhelm Linemann, Andreas Friebe: Harzgerode and the Selketal. Episodes and pictures from four centuries. Letterado, Quedlinburg 2006, ISBN 3-938579-22-6 , pp. 101-107.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Free field location - community in Heilstätte Harzgerode. Retrieved February 28, 2019 .
Coordinates: 51 ° 39 ′ 28.9 ″ N , 11 ° 8 ′ 46 ″ E