Almshouse

The poorhouse was developed in the early modern period from the medieval hospice and hospital. It was often coupled with an orphanage, a prison, a hospital or workhouse.

Description

In workhouses especially older people who could not take care of themselves for their livelihood lived. They got there, a living space and daily meals. The almshouses were formerly part of the cityscape and took only impoverished residents out of their own city. Stranger was this pension is not granted.

Were funded almshouses usually through donations of wealthy citizens as well as by grants from the city and the church. In the country the arms supply was partially settled also from the Community Good ( common land).

The term workhouse is now used almost exclusively in a figurative sense, for example, by a country as " the poorhouse of Africa" ​​or a city as " the poorhouse of the region" is described.