History from the album cover

History from the album cover

Since the Light - Coup d'Etat

On the cover of the demo of the American group there is a strong fire. It burns the remains of a hospital for lepers in Iceland. It was located in the Reykjavik area in Laugarnes. The hospital was operated from 1898 to 1943.

The hospital was built for donations from Denmark. It was opened on July 27, 1898, and the first patients appeared there on October 10 of the same year.

The Danish doctor Edvard Ehler, on behalf of the Danish government traveled in these parts in 1895-1896, and studied leprosy and its treatment. After the research, he wrote articles for the media and made presentations on leprosy. He persuaded the Danish government that the best solution for patients with leprosy is the isolation of patients and convenient hospitalization.

This building was the tallest building of that time in Iceland, and the largest wooden house in the country. The hospital was designed for 60 people, but there are data from 1900, saying that the hospital had about 240 lepers.

 1910

In 1941-1943 a camp was set up on the territory of the hospital.

The hospital was completely destroyed by fire on April 7, 1943.

If you know something else about this building, about its history, about the victims of the fire (if they were, but I did not find such data), then write in the comments.

Materials used:
http://www.laeknabladid.is
https://is.wikipedia.org
Some photos belong to Magnús Ólafsson