Burghölzli

Burghölzli
Burghölzli
Geography
Location	Zürich, Switzerland
Links
Lists	Hospitals in Switzerland

Burghölzli, named after the wooded hill in the district of Riesbach in southeastern

History

Before the construction of dedicated state-run institutions, most people with mental illnesses and disabilities were housed privately. A "counting of the insane" (Irrenzählung) in 1851 found that less than 10 percent of the 1281 individuals identified in the canton of Zurich were in the care of hospitals, most of which lacked dedicated psychiatric wards. In 1817, the city of Zürich had established such a ward in its "Old Hospital" (Altes Spital) in the centre of the old town. Initially, it provided 24 cells for mentally ill individuals. In the 1840s, the entire facility was converted to exclusively house chronically and mentally ill patients. The conditions in the Old Hospital were the subject of frequent criticism, which catalysed proposals for the construction of new asylums. By 1863, plans for a new asylum in the Burghölzli area had been completed. In 1864, the cantonal parliament voted to begin construction of the facility.^{[3]: 45–46 [4]: 49–50} This expansion of psychiatric care came at a time during which public discourse, both in Switzerland and in other European countries, frequently framed the availability of inpatient care for the mentally ill as an indicator of societal progress.^{[3]: 49–50}

Wilhelm Griesinger was instrumental in the planning of the new asylum. Although he died before the building was established in 1870, he is considered the founder of the Burghölzli. From 1870 until 1879, the hospital had three directors, Bernhard von Gudden, Gustav Huguenin and Eduard Hitzig. All three men focused on neuropsychiatry,^[5] with brain pathology and physiology being the general focus of their research.^[1][2]

In addition to Jung, many renowned psychiatrists spent part of their career at the Burghölzli, including Karl Abraham, Ludwig Binswanger, Eugène Minkowski, Hermann Rorschach, Franz Riklin, Constantin von Monakow, Eugen Bleuler, Ernst Rüdin, Adolf Meyer, Abraham Brill and Emil Oberholzer. Albert Einstein's son, Eduard Einstein was a patient at Burghölzli. Today the Burghölzli is an important center for psychiatric research and the treatment of mental illness. The controversial Ewen Cameron studied at Burghölzli in the late 1920s.^[1][2]

On March 6, 1971, a fire broke out at the clinic; 28 elderly male patients died from suffocation. There were bars on the windows, frustrating the attempts of rescuers to save lives.^[8]

Trivia

The fictitious 2007 Swiss mystery film

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References

1. ^
   PMID 27385861
   .
2. ^
   PMID 5330008
   .
3. ^
   ISBN 978-3-0340-1111-2
   .
4. ISBN 978-3-0340-0785-6
   .
5. ISSN 0016-9161
   .
6. ISBN 978-3-0340-0922-5
   .
7. ^ Meier, M., Hürlimann, G., Bernet, B., Tanner, J. (2002). Zwangsmassnahmen in der Zürcher Psychiatrie 1870-1970 [Coercive measures in Zurich psychiatry 1870-1970] (in German). Gesundheitsdirektion des Kantons Zürich.
8. ^ "28 Elderly Men Die in Fire at Clinic in Zurich Suburb," New York Times, March 7, 1971, p. 8.
9. ^ Rolf Breiner. "Stausee-Spuk made in Switzerland" (in German). cineman.ch. Retrieved 2015-02-15.

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47°21′10″N 8°34′14″E / 47.3527°N 8.5706°E / 47.3527; 8.5706