Location Aarhus, Denmark Floor count 3 Floors 3 Construction started 1848 | Completed 1850 Opened 1850 Architectural style Historicism | |
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Architect Michael Gottlieb Bindesbøll Similar Herskind's House, Badstuegade 1H, Thorald's House, Det Norske Hus, Thorup's Kælder | ||
Jydske asyl 2016
Jydske Asyl (English: Asylum of Jutland) is a listed building in Aarhus, Denmark constructed in 1850 and listed in the national Danish registry of protected buildings and places by the Danish Heritage Agency on 15 December 1997. The building was built as a psychiatric hospital and has functioned as such since completion. The buildings hosts Risskov Psychiatric Hospital as well as a museum showcasing the history of psychiatric care and art created by patients.
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History
In 1852 the hospital Helbredsanstalten for Sindssyge i Nørrejylland, colloquially known as Jydske Asyl, was inaugurated in Risskov. Previously psychiatric care had more in common with imprisonment but on 13 October 1847 it was decided by royal decree that a hospital for proper psychiatric treatment should be built in Jutland. The construction was initiated by Frederik Ferdinand Friis but Gottlieb Bindesbøll later took over the process and finished it.
Initially the hospital had room for 130 patients but in 1856 and 1861 it was expanded to host 400 patients. During this period the hospital was also changed from treatment alone to a hosting facility for the incurably ill. In 1886-88 it was expanded again to 468 patients. The hospital has suffered frequent overcrowding and expansion has been continuous throughout the years. In 1857 a church was established by the hospital and in 1892 staff homes were added by the architect Hack Kampmann. In the early 20th century homes for nurses and doctors were built and later in 1968 more homes were added along with new a treatment and research department in a building called Psykiatrisk Institut.
In 1976 the hospital was given its current name of Psychiatric Hospital in Aarhus and in the 1990s it was extensively renovated which further expanded patient capacity. In February 2008 political discussions opened up the possibility that the hospital could be moved to Skejby to the new Aarhus University Hospital complex.
Architecture
Bindesbøll created a solution for an institutional complex in the form of a 4-winged rectangular estate with 4 parallel wings. The buildings were constructed in yellow brick with horizontal red bands. The buildings have many details; semicircular brick connectors above white painted glass doors with cast lintels and olive green windows and shutters. Later additions have on the whole respected the original vision.