Zwiefalten Asylum

In 1812, forty-seven or so mentally ill patients were transferred from Ludwigburg’s Zucht- und Tollhaus (asylum and prison) to a new public asylum created within the old Benedictine monastery of Zwiefalten. The church of the monastery is considered to be one of the most beautiful examples of baroque architecture in Southern Germany. In 1834, the asylum became solely devoted to the care of incurable patients. Its curable patients were taken to a newly-established sister institution at Winnenthal. Zwiefalten was extended to accommodate a total of around 400 patients in 1880.