The Order of the Merciful Brothers will close its “Sebastianeum” spa house in Bad Wörishofen in the Lower Allgäu on October 31st. According to the institution’s website, there is a lack of long-term development prospects. “The operation of the facility has been heavily in deficit for years.” The order approached 23 rehab operators from all over Germany about taking over a business; no one was willing to do that.
79 employees are affected, as Ansgar Dieckhoff, administrative director of the provincial office of the Brothers of Charity of the Catholic News Agency (KNA), said on Friday in Munich. “We are in contact with the surrounding houses, they actually have vacancies.” The “qualified staff” of the “Sebastianeum” is wanted.
With that, the Brothers of Mercy are withdrawing completely from Bad Wörishofen. They had already closed their “Kneippianum” health hotel at the end of 2018, also due to unprofitability. A psychosomatic clinic has now moved into its building. The house was bought by the Mindelheim construction company Glass, to which Dieckhoff says the “Sebastianeum” will now also go. The future use of the building is unclear.
According to information from the Order, the “Sebastianeum” goes back to Pastor Sebastian Kneipp (1821-1897). In 1892, Kneipp brought the Brothers of Mercy into his “Sebastianeum” spa house, which had opened a year earlier. In 1893 he gave the house to the order. To the very end, the facility relied on rehabilitation and prevention based on the Kneipp cure.
Kneipp became famous for its holistic naturopathic treatment. Hydrotherapy, i.e. the use of water for health-promoting purposes, plays an important role in this. In addition, there are four other pillars: exercise, nutrition, herbal medicine and order, i.e. balance of the soul. Behind these pillars is a multitude of possible applications. Kneipp chose prevention as the first goal of water affusions or herbal treatments. But he also promised pain relief and healing, which is at least partially proven today.
The Brothers of Mercy are the world’s most important male nursing order. Each member has nursing training. Around 1,000 brothers belong to the order worldwide, 16 in Bavaria. With around 12,000 employees, the order runs six hospitals, five facilities for the disabled, a retirement home and an inpatient hospice in the Free State.