Die Weisenburg, located at 55 Wiesenstrasse in the district of Wedding, was once an asylum for the homeless built in 1896. Visitors were allowed to stay for 12 hours at a time, four times every month provided they followed a set of house rules. These rules included no gambling with cards, no outside alcohol and no tobacco. Anonymity was very important, and as such they did not require names, only the visitor's job and where they were from. At the beginning of one's stay, they were allowed to go to the bathroom before they bathed and were given clean clothes to wear. If someone was believed to carry lice or other parasites, they were given a thorough cleanse in a bath tub. Once bathed and clothed, visitors would be given a bed in one of Die Weisenburg's ten sleeping halls for the night, gender segregated to avoid any incidents. At its peak, each sleeping hall could hold 90 beds.
Through World War 2, Die Weisenburg was damaged significantly and as such no longer served its purpose and was abandoned. It continued to be cared for by some residents, until as recently as this last year the location was taken by the city and is in the slow process of redevelopment. In the same time, Die Weisenburg found a new purpose as the location of many independent films, and also hosts a small band of artists and filmmakers on its premises. However, in the next year or so the old buildings of Die Weisenburg will be removed (and these artists displaced), due to concerns of safety and aesthetics.
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| Bullet holes on the door to the sleeping hall |
5 comments:
Good information and pictures that you provided! Do you think areas like this are important to preserve, or perhaps be used for alternate uses such as this one? Or would you suggest otherwise due to potential safety concerns?
Interesting points, though I thought the artists and dance groups within the property were able to stay due to a lease older than the current land owner (A.k.a our tour guide) but I could have misunderstood his information.
From my understanding, our tour guide is saved. I wasn't quite sure where the others lived -- in the house or out in the place we were at the end of the day.
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