Karlshospital
The Karlshospital (formerly Zuchthaus am Zuchtberg) was built in Kassel between 1720 and 1721 as an educational and reformatory institution. After the building burned down in World War II, the historic building only existed for decades as a ruin on the banks of the Fulda on Weserstraße in downtown Kassel. In 2008 and 2009, the building was significantly rebuilt and now houses a restaurant and office space.
history
Penitentiary
A penitentiary was originally not seen as a penal institution, but as an educational and reformatory institution. Already in the 17th century there was a penitentiary in Kassel on Schäfergasse. This institution was demolished in 1674 and only found a successor in the Karlshospital. Landgrave Karl designated the institution for:
- "Unwanted children, spendthrifts and idlers bit to your improvement, also other malefactors, falsaries and tramps to be kept to work and fed." (quoted from Lit .: Hessische Landesordnung, 1720)
During the Seven Years' War , the building was used as a hospital by the French army.
jail
In the course of time, the character of the Karlshospital changed. By the end of the 18th century at the latest, it developed into a prison in the classical sense. In 1808, King Jérôme dissolved the town's spinning house and female prisoners were also brought to the penitentiary. The prison housed up to 100 prisoners in the 19th century. In the Weimar Republic it was converted into a welfare home with a soup kitchen and small social housing.
National Socialism
The National Socialists set up a protective detention center in the Karlshospital . Opponents of the regime and other persecuted people were arbitrarily interned here and some of them were later deported to concentration camps. The building burned down during World War II and has not been used since then.
Ruin and renovation
After the ruin had been empty for decades, the city of Kassel tried harder to find a buyer for the building from the end of 2005. The Karlshospital was up for sale for the symbolic sum of 1 euro, with the condition that it be renovated in accordance with a listed building . In July 2006, an investor was awarded the contract. He received a grant of 3 million euros from the state of Hesse. During the renovation, the building was increased by two full floors with a flat roof. Since October 2009 the building has been used as a restaurant, among other things.
today
Today there are several companies in the Karlshospital, such as Impuls Social Management, MT Melsungen or omnica. There is also a restaurant on the ground floor.
Building design
The building has a rectangular floor plan of 48 × 15.6 meters and was originally crowned by a mansard roof . The room layout of the individual floors was still recognizable up to the current renovation: a large hall each on the front (west side), on the first floor previously divided by a row of arcades , and cells on the Fulda side (east side); the original staircase was on the southern narrow side. The vaulted base floor running under the entire building is developed to the full height of the floor on the river side. The shape and the arrangement of some windows deviate from the concept of 1720 after the various renovations. As with all buildings of the Kassel Baroque , the strictly symmetrically structured facade was completely plastered and painted in color. The original roof fell victim to a fire in 1889 and was replaced by a simple gable roof , of which a gable is still preserved. In the 1980s, extensive security work was carried out on the ruins and the building was provisionally covered with a steel structure. This prevented further deterioration in the long term. On the northern front, the wrought-iron grilles of the cell windows from the time of construction were still preserved in situ , as well as the stones of the sandstone columns and basket arches of the elaborate arcade row, which have disappeared today, were stored on the ground floor .
Reconstruction and monument protection
Whether the construction will do justice to the interests of monument protection is disputed in Kassel. It is criticized that the addition of storeys to the building and individual façade openings had too much impact on the historical fabric and the proportions of the building. Particularly in a city in which over 80% of the historical building fabric fell victim to the bombing war, special consideration must be given to the existing building fabric. On the other hand, it is recognized that the building could now be used again for the first time in over sixty years. Inside, the large halls on the west side must be considered lost, which should be seen as a special feature in terms of architectural history. The halls can only be seen in the area currently used as a restaurant, but the upper hall is now spatially connected as a gallery with the lower hall. With its color accentuation and the expansive surface shape, the new structure creates a strong contrast to the historical core of the building, although the height of the original mansard roof is not reached. Due to the changes to the facade design that have been carried out since the 19th century and the lack of historical plastering, the original architectural structure is no longer recognizable. Furthermore, the view of the building from the street side through various pavilions that are supposed to hide the building services is only possible to a limited extent.
Web links
- History of the Karl Hospital, interior photos of the ruin, reconstruction plans
- Photo series of the renovation work
literature
- Alois Holtmeyer: The architectural and art monuments in the Kassel administrative district, Bd. VI , Marburg, 1923
- Hessian State Order III , September 1, 1720, Kassel
- Christian Presche: The Karlshospital in Kassel , Kassel, 3rd improved version 2011 PDF 7.0 MB
Coordinates: 51 ° 19 ′ 1 ″ N , 9 ° 30 ′ 28 ″ E