Marselisborgcentret, formerly Marselisborg Hospital, is a rehabilitation hospital in

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

, situated on ''P. P. Ørums Gade'' in the borough of

Marselisborg Marselisborg is a small borough of Aarhus, Denmark. Being small and situated just south of Frederiksbjerg, Marselisborg is often considered part of Frederiksbjerg. History Like most of the boroughs outside the Midtbyen (Aarhus), inner city of A ...

. The original hospital was established in 1913 and has been repurposed for rehabilitation, including related research and innovation, in 2001. A project at the rehabilitation centre, known as Spark, aims at creating a local public meeting space for everybody, including the well-functioning. The Spark project includes a café and canteen, and communal projects in the associated Rehabilitation Park.

History

Marselisborg Hospital was originally Aarhus' epidemiological hospital, replacing the former epidemiological hospital (from 1875) in ''Ny Munkegade'', where

Samsøgades School Samsøgades School ( da, Samsøgades Skole) is a public primary school in the Midtbyen district of Aarhus, Denmark. The school offers reception classes, 0 through 9 grades and after-school activities for some 500 students across 22 classes (2016). ...

is situated today. The Marselisborg Hospital grounds was at the time of construction outside city limits, but rapid population growth in the late 19th century resulted in city expansion engulfing the hospital area. In 1901, the inhabitants of Ny Munkegades contacted the city council, concerned about the hospital and the possibility of contagious and infectious diseases. In 1907, the city council established a commission to look at the possibility of a new, larger hospital. The commission reviewed a number of locations but eventually decided on a site in

outside the urban area. Construction of the new hospital began in 1910 and it was inaugurated on 31 May 1913. Originally the new hospital had a budget of 600,000 DKK but in 1911, costs had ballooned to 856,000 DKK. One reason was that the city council had decided the hospital should have a department for skin and venereal diseases. When the hospital was finished, it had homes for two attending physicians for the two departments, one for diphtheria and

scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects childr ...

and the other for skin and venereal diseases. The department for venereal diseases was segregated by gender and patients made to wear striped uniforms to clearly mark them from other patients. The first director of the hospital was also selected based on his past as a police officer. The hospital quickly turned out to be too small to keep up with the growth of the city. The location was also isolated from the

Municipal Hospital A Municipal hospital is a hospital under the control of a local government, as opposed to those run commercially, by some sort of charitable organisation, or by national or state governments. In many countries the different sorts of organisations ...

and the County Hospital which made it less useful for more complex treatments. The departments was gradually transferred to

Skejby Sygehus Skejby Sygehus or Aarhus University Hospital, Skejby, was a university hospital in Aarhus, Denmark from 1988 to 2018. In 2011, Skejby Sygehus became part of Aarhus University Hospital Aarhus University Hospital (AUH) is a university hospita ...

and in 1992, Marselisborg Hospital ceased to operate as an independent institution. In 2001, the hospital closed entirely and was made a department of the new

Aarhus University Hospital Aarhus University Hospital (AUH) is a university hospital located in Aarhus, Denmark. The hospital develops and provides highly specialised medical treatment, research and education at an international level. The university hospital's headquarters ...

as the Marselisborg Center (''MarselisborgCentret''), the Danish Center for Rehabilitation and research.

Architecture

Marselisborg Hospital is styled as 10 separate pavilions connected by hallways. The overall floor plan was drawn by the architect

Ludvig Petersen Ludvig Adolph Petersen (31 May 1848 – 10 April 1935) was a Danish architect, teacher, and a founding member and board member of the Danish Association of Architects. Petersen primarily worked as an architect in Vejle and Aarhus. Career Pete ...

and was intended to make it easier to control infectious diseases by separating patients as much as possible. The buildings was designed by the architect

Thorkel Møller Thorkel Luplau Møller (28 July 1868 – 21 December 1946) was a Denmark, Danish architect who primarily worked in and around Aarhus at the turn of the 20th century. Stylistically he worked in the National Romantic style and later Baroque Reviva ...

in National Romantic style. Between 1996 and 2001 a addition by

C. F. Møller Architects Arkitektfirmaet C. F. Møller, internationally also known as C. F. Møller Architects, is an architectural firm based in Århus, Denmark. Founded in 1924 by C. F. Møller, it is today the largest architectural firm in Denmark based on number of em ...

was constructed.

Rehabilitation Park

Rehabiliteringsparken (The Rehabilitation Park), or Marselisborg Hospitalspark (Marselisborg Hospital Park), is a public park that was established in conjunction with the Marselisborg Hospital. At the time the hospital was built, most treatment was inpatient as opposed to modern practices that focus more on outpatient treatment. It was considered important that patients were given green spaces and fresh air as part of the treatment process and the park was established with that goal in mind. Today the Rehabilitation Park is public, covering roughly 4 acres of landscaped terrain. The terrain was originally flat but has had many small hills added while the trees date back to when the park was established and include fruit trees. Small plots of land in the park are allotted to citizens of Aarhus who wish to maintain a small garden.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Hospitals in Denmark Hospitals in Aarhus Hospitals established in 1913 1913 establishments in Denmark