Lung sanatorium at Waldenburg Castle

On behalf of	Tourismus und Sport GmbH
Period	2023-2024

Curation
Exhibition design
Exhibition graphics

Waldenburg Castle served as a hospital for lung patients from 1948 to 1998 and was known as a tuberculosis sanatorium during the GDR. The unknown history of the castle is presented in a personal and emotional journey through time within a permanent exhibition.

Entrance area of the permanent exhibition. Many small white tiles hang on a wall in the middle of the picture, some of which have letters or pictures on them. The tiles read “The castle as a lung sanatorium 1948-1998”. Next to the tiles is a blue information board that provides information about the “History(ies) of the Mottenburg”. Next to it, a light-colored curtain hangs down from the wall, in front of which there is a bench.

The castle as a
place of memory

Task and approach

Within the permanent exhibition, we are responsible for the curation, scenography, design, planning and execution of the exhibition. The intention was to create a place of encounter and memories and to recreate the history of the castle in a tangible way. Through its strong inclusion of contemporary witnesses, the exhibition is a tale of and especially about the people who once brought life to the hospital.

Several tiles on the wall, each printed with parts of photos, create two pictures next to each other. The picture on the left shows seven men posing close together in front of a Christmas tree and looking happy. The picture on the right shows five men who appear to have been photographed more or less spontaneously. Four of them are looking into the camera, one of them is smiling. The mood is good. Both pictures are black and white.

On the left-hand side of a room on the wall is a large gray projection into which a screen is integrated. Images of Waldenburg Castle can be seen on the screen. In the background are blue information posters on the wall.

A journey
through history

Our concept

The exhibition focuses on the personal experiences of contemporary witnesses. In interviews, we have captured the everyday reality of life at the time and translated it into a sensitive narrative using anecdotes, photos and original reports, which highlight the castle as a place of remembrance in a new way. The rooms with their different characteristics are included in their individuality and partially presented according to their original use. The former furniture is repurposed as a presentation area. In this way, visitors discover the castle and its history on an authentic journey through time.

A colorful floral and retro-looking wallpaper can be seen in a recess within a wall. In front of this wallpaper hang two small beige medicine cabinets, which are used as display space. To the left of the bulge on the wall, two blue information boards hang beneath a black and white picture of five men, one of which bears the heading “Secret garbage can in the state room?”. To the right of the bulge is a gray bench under a golden brass sign on the wall.

On the inner pane of an old, double-glazed window, three films can be seen stuck on. The top one shows a black and white photograph of a woman standing next to a nurse and holding her hand. The slide underneath reads “The castle park beckons”. The slide at the bottom right contains information about the castle park and its use at the time.

An old medicine cabinet contains replica packaging of old medicines. A foil with a black and white picture of several doctors can be seen at the top of the panes, below which is a foil with continuous text and the heading “On risks and side effects”.

“This exhibition has only been possible thanks to [the contemporary witnesses]: a story by, with and about the people who filled the castle with life as a lung sanatorium - personal, accessible, emotional and purely human.”

Swana Sobottka – Curator and exhibition designer of the exhibition

An audio station with several informational texts, for example on the topic “How much GDR was there in Waldenburg?”. On the right you can see a hand pressing the button to start the audio program.

Light blue information boards stand on one wall. There are display cases with objects on a small table next to the boards.

A room with old-fashioned floral wallpaper. On the wall are many original pictures and postcards of former patients, with pictures of cats, for example. On the right-hand side is a device on which there is a black, old-fashioned telephone with a dial. Next to it is a stack of postcards of Waldenburg Castle.

(Interactive)
design

Creative realisation

Hospitals are often associated with negative thoughts and feelings. In our case, however, it is mainly about the people who were hospitalised at the time and only secondly about the building itself. And because the people are the focus, it quickly made sense to us that although the exhibition would tell the story of a hospital, it should not look or feel like a hospital. The overall design therefore is warm and friendly, whilst subtle elements such as photo tiles on the wall or room dividers are reminders of the medical atmosphere. Interactive objects such as a media table or illuminated panels allow visitors to experience the hospital with all their senses and create an emotional connection to the story.

A large blue wooden frame with an illuminated panel in the centre and buttons at the bottom of the frame. Under the heading ‘Castle use then and now’, floor plans of various floors of the castle can be recognised. On the right of the picture, a person can be seen leaning slightly over the media table.

A GIF that plays three images in succession.A hand can be seen pushing a small round disc with the inscription ‘How does open tuberculosis develop?’ to the side.A brightly lit image of an animated lung appears underneath.

On a dark information board, which is illuminated from behind, is the heading “3rd diagnostic stage bacterial culture”. Below this, smaller information texts can be seen. In the middle of the board is a large, round, illuminated picture of a bacterial culture.

Working
with people

Learnings and conclusions

The unique aspect of this project was the collaboration with the contemporary witnesses. This was also a new experience for us, from which we learnt a lot. We learnt that interviewing contemporary witnesses and processing them, as well as dealing with their personal photos, requires a great deal of empathy and sensitivity. In this project, we also had the opportunity to take on the entire curation of a project for the first time. Alongside researching and selecting the content, we were able to develop and shape it independently. Overall, the collaboration with Waldenburg Castle was a very valuable and meaningful experience that we would gladly return to at any time.

A large room is separated by a green room divider consisting of individual rods. To the left of the partition hangs a green information board with the heading “Medicine”. Next to it are four black and white photographs of people in the laboratory or just laboratory objects. On the right is a darker information board with the heading “A look at the disease”.

A GIF consisting of three images.The sequence of images shows a finger pressing a button.The image of a lung then lights up.Both are located on a dark information panel that is illuminated from behind.

A black table in front of a black and green illuminated panel. The lower green stripe shows pictures of lungs, each with a short text next to it. On the left of the table is a small black information board. In the middle of the table is a device that can be removed and used for listening.

Imprint

Graphic production: Radebeuler Machwerk e.K.
Light and media installation: VJU Jakob Hornfeck
Film production: Daniel Remler Videoproduktion & Generative AI, Clara Thöne
Audio production: Jadeturm Studio
Realization: TDW-Tischlerei & Gebäudeenergieberatung Daniel Weber