Mental institutions in Langenhorn, Wiesloch and Lubiąż – complementary urban architecture complexes
Journal Title: Architectus - Year 2015, Vol 19, Issue 2
Abstract
Before the mentally ill, who were considered “unworthy to live”, died during World War II within the Nazis’ “Action T4”, German psychiatry was famous not only for world-renowned scholars, but also for great mental institutions. They were organized professionally according to the most recent achievements in that medical fi eld and – in its peak phase – they were uncommonly picturesquely arranged within an urban layout. Some of them bring to mind the associations with Howard’s movement of Garden Cities, realized in practice in Germany after creating “Deutsche Gartenstadtgesellschaft” in 1902. Directly, they can be traced to pavilion hospitals, but there is no doubt that they comprised self-sufficient settlements with well thought out park sites. It was in such institutions (which resumed their operations after the war) that poorer patients, both showing the signs of recovery and the terminally ill, were provided with healthcare, including proper therapy and living conditions. German mental institutions built from 1890s to 1920s were the crowning achievement of doctors’ efforts, who closely cooperated with architects, in order to build the best facility of the kind, as well as the result of the consistent policy of the authorities to create a network of domestic and provincial facilities. As a result, unique urban complexes were created which are not to be found anywhere else. The facilities in Langenhorn, Wiesloch and Lubiąż, presented as examples, show the connection between the layout, architecture of buildings, and park and garden arrangement adjusted to the landscape of the area with new progressive methods of therapy.
Authors and Affiliations
Małgorzata Wójtowicz
Keywords
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- DOI 10.5277/arc150205
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