The Kinderkrankenhaus in Weissensee, is another unique and historical place, long forgotten by Berlin. This was my first solo urban exploration trip in Berlin and as I walked towards the looming buildings children’s laughter echoed throughout the dilapidated buildings. Quite a scary sound given its history.
The Kinderkrankenhaus was opened in 1909 as a proposed solution to rising infant mortality rates, however, was closed down in 1996 remaining as a protected building and has since been reclaimed by graffiti artists, vandals and nature. The 28,000 square metre site includes several very different buildings to explore.
inaugurated in 1911, the Kinderkrankenhaus was the first municipal hospital (under the control of a local government) of Prussia. The hospital was unique in that it had its own cows, milk production facilities and dairy on site which would supply the babies with milk with any excess being sold to the neighbourhood.
One of the coolest things I saw at this abandoned site (apart from the banana room obviously) was this half open elevator shaft, filled with all sorts of rubbish now however pretty creepy in the dark corridor that it is located in. I actually bumped into a guy here and managed to scare him half to death, apparently his friends had left him and the hospital had now claimed him.
There were plans made to change the building into a cancer research centre, however, the awaited donation of 10 million euros from a consortium of Russian doctors (for the preservation and preservation of the building structure) was never received. The Russian buyers then left the building to rot even further to the disappointment of the state of Berlin. There were eleven fires in June 2013 alone and the hospital seems to be beyond repair.
Tourist-o-meter Rating: 7/10
It was pretty easy to get into through a gap in the fence and I bumped into several people along the way. Most people were fellow urban explorers or kids messing around and smoking, but all friendly enough – more so than in the outside world.
Disclaimer: I do not claim to have ever trespassed on this property nor do I condone doing so.
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