Gabersee

Gabersee is a borough of the town Wasserburg am Inn in Bavaria in Germany. Gabersee was the site of a post World War II American sector displaced person camp. It is the birthplace of Carl Troll, and home to a psychiatric hospital, where Friedrich Ludwig died in 1970.

The Hospital
In response to the social problems caused by industrialization and mass society, a lot of social facilities were established towards the end of the 19th century, to take in mentally ill and disabled people, provide them with appropriate accommodation and, if possible, cure them.

After all six mayor social facilities in the upper-bavarian district were overcrowded around 1880, the district bought the property "Gut Gabersee" in 1882 and built a psychiatric clinic with a capacity of 500 patients a year later. The building was designed by architect Johann Rieperdinger. It was specially designed to support therapies with extensive patient occupation. The building (also called "Koloniale Anstalt"), which is located in a park-like setting, was functionally self-sufficient and relatively hygienic for the time. It had a neo-roman church was finished in 1893. In 1902, the number of patients reached ca. 500, which led to it being further expanded in 1908. In 1929, the clinic was renamed "Simons'sche Arbeitstherapie".

In Nazi Germany (1933-1945)
During the rule of the Nazi Party, psychiatric clinics underwent mayor changes because of Aktion T4. In 1940, selections for euthanasia preparations began, leading to the deportation and murder of 542 patients in the Hartheim killing facility. The institution was dissolved in 1941, with remaining patients transferred to Eglfing-Haar, where many succumbed to neglect or overmedication.

Post-War (1945-Present)
Following its closure in 1941, Gabersee served various purposes, including as a displaced persons camp for Jewish survivors after World War II. In 1953, the repaired facilities reopened as the "Nervenkrankenhaus des Bezirks Oberbayern." Over the years, the hospital evolved, with modernizations, expansions, and restructuring. Today, as part of the kbo-Inn-Salzach-Klinikum, it stands as a leading institution in psychiatry, psychotherapy, psychosomatic medicine, geriatrics, and neurology.