Odilien Institute for the Blind
| Odilien Institute Association for the promotion and care of the visually impaired and blind Styria | |
|---|---|
| purpose | Advice, education and care for people with visual impairments or blindness |
| Establishment date: | 1881 |
| Seat : | Graz, Leonhardstrasse 130 |
| Website: | www.odilien.at |
The Odilien Institute is located in the second district of Graz, St. Leonhard . It is a facility for people with visual impairment or blindness.
Institute
| Odilien school association for people with visual impairments, blindness and other disabilities | |
|---|---|
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| type of school | Elementary school, new middle school, special school, technical and business school |
| place | Graz-St. Leonhard |
| state | Styria |
| Country | Austria |
| Coordinates | 47 ° 4 '38 " N , 15 ° 27' 53" E |
| carrier | Odilien school association for people with visual impairments, blindness and other disabilities |
| Website | vs.odilien.at; nms.odilien.at; fachschulen@odilien.at |
The foundation of the Odilienverein to care for the blind Styria in 1880 goes back to an initiative of the blind organist and piano tuner Gustav Garzaner. The institute was opened with five pupils under the patronage of Archduchess Stephanie .
The Odilien-Institut, today supported by the private Odilien-Institut Verein, looks after around 450 people of all ages with visual impairments or blindness. In the form of the Odilien-Institut GmbH, it employs 240 teachers and supervisors from various disciplines. Special emphasis is placed on the pre- and post-school support, the offer ranges from early support to training offers , advice center , educational platform, day support and supervision, workshops, library and toy library to the Cafe Odilia as a meeting point.
The accommodation offers include afternoon care for children and adolescents, technical school boarding , dormitories , shared apartments and training apartments through to retirement homes .
schools
Overall, the Odilien School Association offers schoolchildren the opportunity to attend school in the following types of school:
- Elementary school Odilien - a regular elementary school, with integrated classes . By combining the different types of school, every student can be adequately supervised. In 2006 the elementary school was awarded the Pedagogical Panther , the highest school award in Styria.
- New Odilien Middle School
- S onderschule for blind and visually impaired children
- Economic college
- Technical college
A boarding school is also available for schoolchildren.
(→ List of schools for the blind )
Building
The institute is probably located in the same place that the former Meierhof Guntarn occupied. This was the second settlement area in Graz after the Graz city fortress. The former Schanzelwirt, one of the oldest inns in town, also belonged to him. The building was built in 1798 by Freiherr von Ludwigsdorf. Before that, the site had been owned by the Teutonic Knight Order since 1305. The institute for the blind has been located on the premises of the complex since 1881. In the years 1885 and 1886 an extension was made and through the additions from 1902 and 1903 the complex reached its current total length of 144 meters.
The building consists of three to four floors and the facade was designed in the old German neo-renaissance style.
The building is a listed building .
Ottilia Chapel
The house chapel, whose tower can be seen from afar, was renovated for the first time in 1916. It is located in the central axis of the system and emerges from it. The tower consists of two floors and has a pointed roof. The interior is from the time the chapel was built. It contains a carved figure of Saints Joseph and Vincent von Paul, above it a painting of Saint Ottilia, the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Blind, made by the artist A. v. Wörndle were created in 1891. The side oil paintings with the depictions of the Heart of Mary and St. Cäcilia come from the same artist.
Commemoration
Irene Ransburg, born on November 28th 1898, baptized Jewish, adopted in St. Ruprecht ad Raab, graduated from the commercial school in Graz. In 1915 she lost her eyesight and hearing due to an illness at the age of 16 and from then on lived as a student at the Odile Institute. She weaves baskets, learns Braille, especially writes poetry and comes into contact with writers of her time, such as Gustinus Ambrosi . Her Jewish origins were kept secret at the institute during the National Socialist era , but they were betrayed. On September 21, 1944, the Gestapo picked her up and took her to the Theresienstadt concentration camp . In a suicide note, she forgave the traitors. On October 23, she was transferred to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp and murdered with gas. On May 11, 2015, a memorial ceremony for Irene Ransburg took place at the institute with the unveiling of a plaque. On August 16, 2016, the Association for Memorial Culture organized the laying of two stumbling blocks on the sidewalk in front of the house for you, one in plain text and one textident - for the first time in Europe - in Braille : up to 6 points emerge from the brass plate, character by character.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Chronicle of the Institute for the Blind ( Memento from September 22, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Förderverein Odilien-Institut ( Memento from February 25, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ The winners of the Pedagogical Panther 2006 , elternbrief.at
- ↑ a b DEHIO Graz. Edited by Horst Schweigert. Schroll, Vienna 1979. p. 118.
- ^ Stumbling blocks in Graz> Irene Ransburg Association for Memorial Culture in Graz, accessed September 20, 2017.