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The hospital as a work of art: one hundred thirty years of dermatology in Dresden-Friedrichstadt
Clinics in Dermatology (2008) 26, 89–91
The hospital as a work of art: one hundred thirty years of dermatology in Dresden-Friedrichstadt Uwe Wollina, MD⁎, Gesina Hansel, MD Department of Dermatology, Hospital Dresden-Friedrichstadt, Academic Teaching Hospital of the Technical University of Dresden, 01067 Dresden, Germany
Abstract The department of dermatology at the Hospital Dresden-Friedrichstadt (Dresden, Germany) was founded in 1874 as one of the oldest departments of dermatology in a municipal hospital in Germany. Dresden was the capital of Saxony and, as such, one of the most influential cultural centers of Germany. This particular situation is also reflected by the hospital's history itself. © 2008 Published by Elsevier Inc.
Science is not a mechanism but a human progress, and not a set of findings but the search for them.
(J. Bronowski, Science and Human Values) The municipal Hospital Dresden-Friedrichstadt (Dresden, Germany) is basically located on a ground that was owned before by the Earl Heinrich von Brühl (1700-1763), one of the Saxonian king's favorites (Fig. 1). He served as the first minister of Friedrich August II of Saxony. Brühl was a wealthy man, well known for a beautiful terrace he had built along the Elbe river near the Saxonian court. It was he who engaged Zacharias Longeluene to project a huge fountain dedicated to Neptune. Longeluene was also involved in the baroque sculpture garden of Großsedlitz nearby Dresden. The fountain project was realized by Lorenzo Matielli (1688-1748) at the price of about 100,000 thaler. The fountain is created on 3 different levels with the figure of Neptune in the center (Fig. 2), his wife Amphitrite (Fig. 3) sitting next to him in a vehicle made from mussels. The ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +49 351 480 1210; fax: +49 351 480 1219. E-mail address: [email protected] (U. Wollina). 0738-081X/$ – see front matter © 2008 Published by Elsevier Inc. doi:10.1016/j.clindermatol.2007.10.007
vehicle is moved by spouting Hippocampi and driven by Nereids and a zephyr. A triton playing a horn and a dolphin complete the arrangement. Three basins are arranged in different levels, surrounded by the idols of the Tiber and Nile. About 60 m3/h of water was necessary the keep the fountains going. That was technical challenge at that time. The Neptune fountain is one of the largest baroque fountains in Germany today.1 In 1774, the Earl Camillo Marcolini (1739-1814) purchased the terrain and built a nice palace protected by 4 mighty lions sculptured by Johann Baptist Dorsch (17441789). The sculpture of a drunken cellar man in the garden is a piece of artwork from Thaddaeus Ignaz Wiskotschill (1753-1795). The Marcolini palace was used during summer time for festivities. Marcolini hosted famous guests in these rooms. In the year 1803, the Duke Carl August from Weimar, the Duke of Dessau, the Duke of Toscany, and the Duchess Amalie from Weimar were spending some time in the palace.1 The most famous guest, however, was Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), who used the palace from June 10 to June 25 and from August 4 to August 15, 1813, as his headquarters. On June 27 and June 29, he had peace
90
U. Wollina, G. Hansel
Fig. 1
The Marcolini palace, seen from the garden.
conversations with Clemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar von Metternich, Prince of Portella.2 Metternich described the results of this conference in his laconic style: “Monsieur le marcheal, votre empereur c'est l'homme perdu.” As a consequence, the battle of Dresden, in which the Austrian army together with Prussian and Russian troops were fighting against the Napoleon army but lost for the last time, took place on August 26 (Fig. 4). In 1845, the city of Dresden purchased the Marcolini palace and the ground to use this place for a municipal hospital. Reconstruction was incomplete when the street fighting of 1849 needed a hospital for the wounded. In the fall of 1849, the reconstruction was finished, and the official foundation of the hospital is dated November 27, 1849. From
Fig. 2
The Neptune fountain.
Fig. 3
Amphitrite (detail of the Neptune fountain).
1847 to 1849, Richard Wagner lived there, working on his opera, Lohengrin.1 In 1874, the department of dermatology was founded as a second outer department for skin diseases, venereology, and dermatosurgery, with 71 beds (Fig. 5). From 1874 to 1901
Fig. 4 The Napoleon room in the Marcolini palace, where Bonaparte met Metternich.
The hospital as a work of art
91
Fig. 5 The “old” (upper photograph) and “new” (lower photograph) department of dermatology. The old one was located in a wing of the Marcolini palace.
Fig. 7 A moulage from Fritz Kolbow (1878-1946) from the Werther collection showing exanthema syphiliticum.
Julius Otto Martini (1829-1909) was the director. He studied medicine in Leipzig and worked as a military physician in the Saxonian army before he got a position at the hospital.3 Johannes Werthers (1865-1936), who had studied Medicine in Leipzig and worked at the department of dermatology at the Charité, Berlin served as director from
1901 to 1930. He introduced modern techniques such as photography, microscopy, quartz lamp, and a roentgen apparatus in the clinic (Fig. 6). He also founded the collection of moulages in 1903; some of them survived to World War II and the postwar period (Fig. 7).3 By moulages, sculpturing returned to this historical place as a tool for medical education. Other pieces of art devoted to dermatology are copper engravings or paintings.4 Despite the ups and downs in its history, the hospital Dresden-Friedrichstadt has kept the unique atmosphere that is influenced by the combination of art and science.
References
Fig. 6
Werther with his staff.
1. Fiedler A. Zur Geschichte des Marcolini'schen Palais, jetzt Stadtkrankenhaus zu Friedrichstadt-Dresden. Festschrift zur Feier des fünfzigjährigen Bestehens des Stadtkrankenhauses zu Dresden-Friedrichstadt. Herausgegeben vom Rathe zu Dresden. Dresden: Verlag von Wilhelm Baensch; 1899. p. 13-32. 2. Cronin V. Napoleon. Glasgow: William Collins Sons & Co; 1971. 3. Hansel G. 120 Jahre Hautklinik Dresden-Friedrichstadt. Hautarzt 1995;46:278-82. 4. Fatovic-Ferencic S, Plewig G, Holubar K. Skin in water-colours. Aquarelles from Hebra's department in Vienna 1841-1843. BlackwellVerlag, Berlin - Vienna, 2003.
The hospital as a work of art: one hundred thirty years of dermatology in Dresden-Friedrichstadt Uwe Wollina, MD⁎, Gesina Hansel, MD Department of Dermatology, Hospital Dresden-Friedrichstadt, Academic Teaching Hospital of the Technical University of Dresden, 01067 Dresden, Germany
Abstract The department of dermatology at the Hospital Dresden-Friedrichstadt (Dresden, Germany) was founded in 1874 as one of the oldest departments of dermatology in a municipal hospital in Germany. Dresden was the capital of Saxony and, as such, one of the most influential cultural centers of Germany. This particular situation is also reflected by the hospital's history itself. © 2008 Published by Elsevier Inc.
Science is not a mechanism but a human progress, and not a set of findings but the search for them.
(J. Bronowski, Science and Human Values) The municipal Hospital Dresden-Friedrichstadt (Dresden, Germany) is basically located on a ground that was owned before by the Earl Heinrich von Brühl (1700-1763), one of the Saxonian king's favorites (Fig. 1). He served as the first minister of Friedrich August II of Saxony. Brühl was a wealthy man, well known for a beautiful terrace he had built along the Elbe river near the Saxonian court. It was he who engaged Zacharias Longeluene to project a huge fountain dedicated to Neptune. Longeluene was also involved in the baroque sculpture garden of Großsedlitz nearby Dresden. The fountain project was realized by Lorenzo Matielli (1688-1748) at the price of about 100,000 thaler. The fountain is created on 3 different levels with the figure of Neptune in the center (Fig. 2), his wife Amphitrite (Fig. 3) sitting next to him in a vehicle made from mussels. The ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +49 351 480 1210; fax: +49 351 480 1219. E-mail address: [email protected] (U. Wollina). 0738-081X/$ – see front matter © 2008 Published by Elsevier Inc. doi:10.1016/j.clindermatol.2007.10.007
vehicle is moved by spouting Hippocampi and driven by Nereids and a zephyr. A triton playing a horn and a dolphin complete the arrangement. Three basins are arranged in different levels, surrounded by the idols of the Tiber and Nile. About 60 m3/h of water was necessary the keep the fountains going. That was technical challenge at that time. The Neptune fountain is one of the largest baroque fountains in Germany today.1 In 1774, the Earl Camillo Marcolini (1739-1814) purchased the terrain and built a nice palace protected by 4 mighty lions sculptured by Johann Baptist Dorsch (17441789). The sculpture of a drunken cellar man in the garden is a piece of artwork from Thaddaeus Ignaz Wiskotschill (1753-1795). The Marcolini palace was used during summer time for festivities. Marcolini hosted famous guests in these rooms. In the year 1803, the Duke Carl August from Weimar, the Duke of Dessau, the Duke of Toscany, and the Duchess Amalie from Weimar were spending some time in the palace.1 The most famous guest, however, was Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), who used the palace from June 10 to June 25 and from August 4 to August 15, 1813, as his headquarters. On June 27 and June 29, he had peace
90
U. Wollina, G. Hansel
Fig. 1
The Marcolini palace, seen from the garden.
conversations with Clemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar von Metternich, Prince of Portella.2 Metternich described the results of this conference in his laconic style: “Monsieur le marcheal, votre empereur c'est l'homme perdu.” As a consequence, the battle of Dresden, in which the Austrian army together with Prussian and Russian troops were fighting against the Napoleon army but lost for the last time, took place on August 26 (Fig. 4). In 1845, the city of Dresden purchased the Marcolini palace and the ground to use this place for a municipal hospital. Reconstruction was incomplete when the street fighting of 1849 needed a hospital for the wounded. In the fall of 1849, the reconstruction was finished, and the official foundation of the hospital is dated November 27, 1849. From
Fig. 2
The Neptune fountain.
Fig. 3
Amphitrite (detail of the Neptune fountain).
1847 to 1849, Richard Wagner lived there, working on his opera, Lohengrin.1 In 1874, the department of dermatology was founded as a second outer department for skin diseases, venereology, and dermatosurgery, with 71 beds (Fig. 5). From 1874 to 1901
Fig. 4 The Napoleon room in the Marcolini palace, where Bonaparte met Metternich.
The hospital as a work of art
91
Fig. 5 The “old” (upper photograph) and “new” (lower photograph) department of dermatology. The old one was located in a wing of the Marcolini palace.
Fig. 7 A moulage from Fritz Kolbow (1878-1946) from the Werther collection showing exanthema syphiliticum.
Julius Otto Martini (1829-1909) was the director. He studied medicine in Leipzig and worked as a military physician in the Saxonian army before he got a position at the hospital.3 Johannes Werthers (1865-1936), who had studied Medicine in Leipzig and worked at the department of dermatology at the Charité, Berlin served as director from
1901 to 1930. He introduced modern techniques such as photography, microscopy, quartz lamp, and a roentgen apparatus in the clinic (Fig. 6). He also founded the collection of moulages in 1903; some of them survived to World War II and the postwar period (Fig. 7).3 By moulages, sculpturing returned to this historical place as a tool for medical education. Other pieces of art devoted to dermatology are copper engravings or paintings.4 Despite the ups and downs in its history, the hospital Dresden-Friedrichstadt has kept the unique atmosphere that is influenced by the combination of art and science.
References
Fig. 6
Werther with his staff.
1. Fiedler A. Zur Geschichte des Marcolini'schen Palais, jetzt Stadtkrankenhaus zu Friedrichstadt-Dresden. Festschrift zur Feier des fünfzigjährigen Bestehens des Stadtkrankenhauses zu Dresden-Friedrichstadt. Herausgegeben vom Rathe zu Dresden. Dresden: Verlag von Wilhelm Baensch; 1899. p. 13-32. 2. Cronin V. Napoleon. Glasgow: William Collins Sons & Co; 1971. 3. Hansel G. 120 Jahre Hautklinik Dresden-Friedrichstadt. Hautarzt 1995;46:278-82. 4. Fatovic-Ferencic S, Plewig G, Holubar K. Skin in water-colours. Aquarelles from Hebra's department in Vienna 1841-1843. BlackwellVerlag, Berlin - Vienna, 2003.