Leper House (Kaufbeuren)

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Leper infirmary, Kaufbeuren

The Leprosenhaus is an infirmary for lepers in the city of Kaufbeuren, first mentioned in a document in 1306 . Today it serves as a nursing home for people with dementia and is operated by the Hospital Foundation for the Holy Spirit (Kaufbeuren) .

Building description

It is a late medieval, two-story, plastered solid building with a gable roof and round arch frieze under the eaves , as well as a western extension from the 18th century. The building and the associated St. Dominikus Hospital Church form an ensemble on the eastern edge of downtown Kaufbeur.

history

The emerging local and long-distance trade in the Middle Ages ensured increasing mobility for a large part of the population. This contributed to the spread of leprosy , syphilis and infectious diseases of all kinds. However, the growing wealth of the urban bourgeoisie resulting from trade made it possible for so-called leprosories to emerge in front of the city walls through foundations .

In Kaufbeuren, Dominicans built a small monastery and an infirmary for the lepers, initially made of clay and wood, near the existing chapel in 1263. Around ten people were accommodated in it. After the Dominicans left in 1330, the “ Hospital Foundation for the Holy Spirit ” took over the Leper House and built the late medieval building that still exists today.

When leprosy decreased towards the end of the 17th century, the closure of the infirmary was considered. The last leper at this place is mentioned in a council minutes from 1775. After a renovation in 1827, the building was used as an external hospital by the hospital foundation as a poor house .

Additional information

  • Helmut Lausser (ed.): Beneficiaries, sick people , poor poor people. Source edition of the medieval hospital foundation documents. Bauer, Thalhofen 2009, ISBN 978-3-934509-71-9 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jürgen Kraus (Ed.): The city of Kaufbeuren. Volume 1: Political History and Present of a City. Bauer-Verlag, Thalhofen 1999, ISBN 3-930888-60-2 , p. 27.
  2. ↑ List of architectural monuments in Kaufbeuren
  3. ↑ Jürgen Kraus (Ed.): The city of Kaufbeuren. Volume 3. Bauer-Verlag, Thalhofen 2006, ISBN 978-3-930888-99-3 , pp. 229f.

Web links

Commons : Leprosenhaus (Kaufbeuren)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 47 ° 52 ′ 56.9 ″  N , 10 ° 37 ′ 50.7 ″  E