Die Wiesenburg,
was an asylum for homeless people located in the Berlin district known as
Wedding that mainly operated in the 19th and 20th
centuries until World War II when it was heavily damaged and abandoned. The term
asylum is used here in a very different way than it is currently in the western
world. Die Wiesenburg was not an
institution meant for the containment and housing of mentally unstable persons,
rather a sanctuary for those in need. This building was originally only meant for
housing homeless men in seek of shelter in the city, a female wing was added to
the original structure later. In order to best care for those seeking aid Die Wiesenburg housed a large number of
baths and showers for the patrons to use free of charge, along with areas for the laundering and
disinfecting of clothes that may have carried lice or other insets and
parasites. In general, the rules put onto those seeking shelter in Die Wiensenburg were very simple: no
smoking tobacco, no consumption of alcohol, specifically cognac, and no playing
cards for money. Die Wiesenburg could
house 700 men at any given time. The building was equipped with 10 sleeping
rooms that housed 70 beds in each. During times of very high demand each of
these rooms had the potential to house up to 90 beds. After the addition of the
woman’s wing the establishment could house over 1,000 people.Visitors to Die
Wiesenburg could stay for a maximum of 12 hours in the facility, and a
major emphasis would put on the anonymity of the visitors. Only two things were
ever asked of those seeking shelter; where are you from? And where do you work?
No names of visitors were ever recorded.
Recently, Die
Wiesenburg has been used in the shooting of several different movies and
television shows revolving around the spooky and unknown. Unfortunately the
City has taken over Die Wiensburg and
will possibly demolish the remaining structures, and displacing the currently
artists and dancers that have set up their studios on the grounds, due to
concerns about the safety of the structure.
Below are some photos of Die Wiesenburg
5 comments:
It was very interesting to see such a ruin. I really enjoyed walking through die Wiesenburg. I found it interesting that the visitor's names were never recorded. Do you have any idea why this may be?
Our tour guide mentioned that if police came looking for someone by name nobody would be able to really give him an answer whether or not he was ever there. Meanwhile there was a backdoor for the person to slip out of. I'm not sure if he was joking haha. I don't think the place was meant to be somewhere for prisoners to hide out, but it was definitely meant to be a safe place where you could remain anonymous
I agree with Taya, I remember him saying the same thing! Although, he was kind of a jokester! I think that this place was built to mainly give those who don't have a lot a place to stay for the night so they were able to rejuvenate themselves. I know he mentioned that they were only able to stay for 12 hours until they left, but I wonder whether they were allowed to return in the next week per say.
I think Taya is very right in this matter. I do recall the guide talking about allowing people to escape out the back door. I also feel that this eliminates a liability issue. If the police were to come looking for a fugitive, the establishment could avoid being charged with harboring a fugitive since those working within Die Wiesenburg would legitimately have no idea that a person of interest for law enforcement was even staying there. I think its a method of protecting the people seeking shelter of the establishment. While also protect those working their from prosecution. It is actually very brilliant to ensure that all individuals involved are protected.
Post a Comment