Marienpflege Children's Village

The Capuchin monastery from 1731, renovated in 1992, with a new St. Francis chapel

The main building from 1908

The central playground

The Marienpflege children's village is a church foundation under private law in Ellwangen (Jagst) , a town in the Ostalb district in Baden-Württemberg . Today's children's and youth village and center for youth welfare was founded in 1830 as a “child rescue center” and in the 21st century has developed into a systemic center for children, youth and families. The complex is a listed entity and is remarkable because it consists as an ensemble of older and relatively new monuments together with the associated open spaces.

history

Emergence

In order to do something constructive against the misery of children and the neglect of young people, in Ellwangen an “Association of Human Friends” founded the so-called “Marienpflege” in 1830. This facility could be housed in a “children's rescue center”, i.e. an orphanage , in the secularized Capuchin monastery close to the city . In the early decades, life in the Marian Foster Care was very tough for the orphans living there. As recently as 1880, a report describes the situation as follows: “In addition to the house father and his wife, the house staff consisted of a groom, a day laborer, a seamstress, a kitchen maid and a stable maid. The whole family ate in the common dining room every day. Dinner usually consisted of black soup, while Vespers consisted of a piece of black bread. There was no butter or jam. "

Further development

Overview board of the children's village

1908: Construction of the main building in the then modern Art Nouveau style ,
1926: Extension to include a Catholic auxiliary school ,
1933–1945: Resistance against the misanthropy of National Socialism by Kaplan Renz,
after 1945: accommodation of 250 children in a confined space during the hardship of the post-war period ,
from 1960: conversion to a "children and youth village", gradually turning into a modern center for youth welfare,
1992: Renovation of the monastery buildings and design of the Franziskuskapelle by Sieger Köder ,
1993–1997: Financial crisis because of the cap on care rates and
from 2000: Further differentiation and expansion into a systemic center for children, youth and families.

Awarded an architecture prize

Survived crisis

Cap on care rates

As a result of the state cap on nursing care rates in the years 1993 to 1997, the Marian nursing home came into great financial hardship, because now the nursing care rate was frozen at the lowest level. Only contacts with the Family Ministry in Bonn led to the crisis being overcome.

Sale of the farm

After the Second World War , a farm was built on the monastery grounds in 1948. He was then resettled to the Hinterer Buchenberg in 1960–1962 and in 1998 converted into an educational children's farm, where mainly riding therapy was offered. This farm was sold in 2005 and the agricultural land was leased. The Special Education riding was maintained by four horses.

Therapy horses

Sister Ingunde had built up this therapeutic riding since 1972. The girls in particular found valuable self-affirmation through their friendship with horses. The existing farm was rebuilt with a lot of personal contribution and could be used from 1999. A climbing wall was also built on the farm for the educational experience. When the farm was sold in 2005, at least the therapy horses were kept and placed in a good farm in Hummelsweiler .

Form of organization and personnel

The Marienpflege is a church foundation under private law with the supervisory board and the executive board as organs . The foundation supervision is exercised by the bishop of the diocese Rottenburg-Stuttgart . It is also affiliated with the Caritas Association of the diocese.

Since 1908 Franciscan Sisters of Sießen have lived as a convent in the care of Mary. They have lived in the monastery building since 1992 and meet for worship and prayer times. They are employees in various areas. Around 220 employees - on 150 positions - work for the well-being of the children and families.

About 105 children and young people live in the village. The Rupert Mayer School offers around 180 children and young people a place to learn every day, 55 children are either in the all-day kindergarten or the all-day crèche. The educational counseling center advises around 200 families annually or supports them on an outpatient basis in questions of upbringing.

Basic positions of the children's and youth village

The foundation is the Christian faith and the Christian image of man.
Marienpflege is a member of the DGSF ( German Society for Systemic Therapy, Counseling and Family Therapy ).
There are coordinated concepts and procedures for child protection and prevention as well as for preventing violence and sexual abuse.

deals

A group of family houses

Large central playground

Family houses and small playground

Memory of the Knam era 1959–2000

Family support help or advice

Developmental counseling
Special educational early counseling center
Psychological counseling center
Educational assistance
Family support services, socio-educational family help
Supervised handling, social care relationships, accompanied handling
Advice on suspected child welfare risks in accordance with Section 8a of Book VIII of the Social Code
Ellwang single parent meeting
Courses for young parents, parenting education offers
Pastoral care for families with disabled children

Additional family support during the day

Nursery
day care center
School kindergarten
Day groups

Help day and night

Indoor living groups (also with performance modules for children and adolescents with eating disorders or with special communication and relationship disorders, for systemic parenting and family work, for small children, as social integrative training, for school breaks and for intensive attachment education)
Decentralized residential groups
Intensive group
Supervised youth living
Taking into care

Rupert Mayer School for Educational Aid

Elementary and special school, Werkrealschule
Clinic school at the St. Anna-Virngrund-Klinik Ellwangen

Psychological-educational specialist service

Diagnostics, advice and training

Psychological counseling center

Advice to children, adolescents and families with parenting problems
Expert advice from other social institutions
Separation and divorce children group

Cross-group offers

Therapeutic horse riding
Leisure and adventure education, generous sports facilities, internet café, youth club
Holiday camps and project days

Cultural monuments as a whole

The complex of the Marienpflege is an entity according to the Monument Protection Act of Baden-Württemberg . See also the list of cultural monuments in Ellwangen (Jagst) .

This ensemble includes:

The four-winged Capuchin monastery from 1729, converted into a children's rescue facility in 1831, renovated several times in the 19th and 20th centuries (Dalkinger Straße 4),
The main building of Rescue Institute, a four-storey stucco building with curved hip roof, in 1908 to designs by the Commissioner of City Planning Stuttgart steel built, remodeled recently (Dalkinger B2):
Children's village, consisting of 14 one-and-a-half-storey family houses in reinforced concrete construction, built 1964–1968 according to plans by the Ellwang Architects' Association Rothmaier / Tröster, including the open spaces (Dalkinger Straße 4/1, 4/2, 4/3, 4/4, 4/5, 4 / 6, 4/7, Wolfgangsklinge 13, 13/1, 13/2, 13/3, 13/4, 13/5, 13/6, parcel number 606).

The former Capuchin monastery

The Capuchin monastery from the city side: ballroom building and St. Francis chapel

Emergence

The development of the Capuchin monastery went as follows:

On October 31, 1728, the Prince Provost of Ellwang approved the construction of a monastery outside the royal seat.
On January 3, 1729, a separate lapel was issued with six restrictive conditions. The Capuchins agreed and on May 18, 1729, with Fructuosus as Guardian, they ceremoniously entered Ellwangen.
On Pentecost Saturday, June 4, 1729, negotiations took place with representatives of the city about a building site on the city moat up to the Jagst . However, this place was too small and swampy for the Capuchins. Then the large meadow square not far from the stone gate was proposed and bought.
Immediately afterwards, construction of the monastery began. The foundation stone of the church was laid on April 13, 1730. It was consecrated on March 13, 1732.
In the year the monastery was completed, Franz Georg von Schönborn (1732–1756) became the new prince provost. He was a friend of the Capuchins. The Capuchin settlement flourished under him.

Dissolution and new use

The secularization brought a death sentence for the Capuchin monastery. The monastery convent with a guardian, a vicar , 18 fathers and fratres had to swear an oath of allegiance to the government (December 3, 1802). The monastery was allowed to continue to exist as a "central monastery", but not accept any novices . So it was doomed to extinction. The Capuchins had to take off their habit , their activities were closely monitored and they suffered great hardship.

The following plans for the new use were under discussion: 1822 salt warehouse, 1826 police house, 1828 children's rescue center and finally in 1830 a brewery. When only one priest and three fratres lived in the monastery, the Württemberg government issued the eviction order on December 7, 1829 . It was consummated on February 10, 1830. The remaining inventory was squandered.

Through the committed step in by the chief magistrate Viktor Sandberger , the monastery became the nucleus of the care of the Virgin Mary , because the plan of the children's rescue center was implemented.

Franziskuskapelle in the renovated monastery

Temporary use of the monastery as a Jewish prayer room

Organ, painted by Sieger Köder

In Advent 1992, after three years of construction, the restoration of the former Capuchin monastery was completed. Because of its dilapidation, it had been almost empty for years.

Auxiliary Bishop Kreidler inaugurated the Franziskuskapelle , artistically designed by Sieger Köder , as the spiritual center of the children's village. The cloister with the rediscovered deep well is now again used for its intended purpose. Since then the Franciscan Sisters have been able to lead their monastic life in the former monastery.

A ballroom and conference rooms and an archive were built in the former nave. With its inauguration, the 30-year journey from the orphanage to the children's village was completed and a monument of special importance was saved from further deterioration.