Was it truly a place of distant suffering? Fernesiechen. This district in Freiberg bears a name that hints at a history of isolation and care.
Fernesiechen is a district in Freiberg-West. It might seem like just another part of the town today. Its name echoes a time when it stood apart. It was a place for those in need of special care.
Around 1250, the Bartholomäus Hospital was founded. Some called it Fernesiechen. This hospital was connected to the Hospital St. Johannis. St. Johannis was first mentioned in 1224. The Bartholomäus Hospital, or Fernesiechen, is first documented in the mid-13th century. A specific date appears in 1371.
Interestingly, Fernesiechen and the Johannis Hospital were not under the Freiberg Rat’s control. They were like the Rittergut Freibergsdorf. The hospital’s economic assets were located to the west and northeast of Freiberg.
The Bartholomäus Church belonged to the hospital. Both the church and the hospital were torn down in 1843.
Later, in 1907, the Freiberg water tower was built in the southern part of Fernesiechen. This helped improve the city’s water supply. From 1956, the Wasserberg residential area developed south of Fernesiechen. The water tower became its symbol.
Today, the old buildings of Fernesiechen are senior citizens’ homes. They are called Haus Johannishof and Haus Elisabeth. These are run by Seniorenheime Freiberg gGmbH.
So, while the name Fernesiechen might suggest a distant, isolated place of suffering, it is now a place of care and community. It is a place where history meets the present. It reminds us of the evolution of care within Freiberg.