The Foundation

Our mission

The purpose of the Fürst Donnersmark Foundation in Berlin is "To provide rehabilitation, care, assistance and support for the physically disabled and multiply handicapped as well as to promote and support research in the field of care for the physically disabled and multiply handicapped".

Our history

In 1916 Guido Graf Henckel Fürst von Donnersmarck, shaped by his experience in the First World War and guided by his strong social commitment, donated 1000 "morgen" of land (some 255 hectares) on the northern outskirts of Berlin. He also provided the foundation with four million goldmarks. His intention was to establish a "hospital and rehabilitation centre" for those wounded in the war combined with a "research institution for the scientific investigation and therapeutic application of experience gathered during the current war". However, the war and ensuing inflation as well as attempts to dissolve the foundation during the Nazi era meant that the implementation of his ambitious plans was delayed for many years. The foundation was finally able to commence its activities 1950s and from this time it was able to expand the services offered continuously.

Our services

Today the foundation has various facilities all dedicated to the rehabilitation and advancement of the physically disabled and multiply handicapped. At the same time it is also dedicated to the goal of promoting research in the field of rehabilitation. Since 2006 the foundation's committee has regularly awarded the Fürst Donnersmarck Foundation Research Prize for current research work in the area of neurological rehabilitation.

The Fürst Donnersmarck Foundation is active in the fields of rehabilitation, education and tourism. There are also a number of subsidiaries and shareholdings combined under its umbrella:

Subsidiaries:

• FDS Gewerbebetriebs GmbH
• Hotel HausRheinsberg
• Café Tucholsky

    Shareholdings:

• Nordbahn gGmbH, a workshop for people with disabilities (50% shareholding)
• Berliner Werkstätten für Behinderte GmbH (BWB) (5% shareholding)

Rehabilitation

Residential care and rehabilitation services are primarily aimed at people with acquired functional disabilities that limit their ability to act and participate following damage to the nervous system such as that following a stroke or severe brain trauma.

The residential care services can be divided into the following sub-areas:

Fürst Donnersmarck Haus in Berlin-Frohnau (a total of 124 places),

• Permanent residence: this is home to people who require permanent residential care due to their high reliance on assistance.
  
• Short-term residence and rehabilitation, now known as the P.A.N. centre for post-acute neurological rehabilitation in the Fürst Donnersmarck Haus in the Frohnau district of Berlin, offering everyday, activity-related services for neurological rehabilitation and therapy.
• "Am Querschlag" residential home: The smallest of the homes, also located in Frohnau/Berlin, provides long-term residence for a total of 13 people.

In the area of sheltered, independent housing, people live in their own apartments or in shared flats and receive the type and degree of support and care that they have agreed with the service provider. This area currently provides the following capacity:

• Shared accommodation (50 places)
• Assisted independent accommodation/support association (87 places)
• Residential houses (77 places and 4 apartments)
• From 2010 on: accommodation with intensive support in the Alte Mälzerei in Pankow (16 places) and in Seebuschring in Tempelhof (18 places)

This area includes one of the three regions of the "Lotse Berlin" (the pilot of Berlin) project that provides advice on residential and support services for disabled people throughout Berlin on behalf of various organisations.
The foundation has been contributing towards ensuring that disabled people can lead independent lives since 1999 with its home service. Various aid and support options are available for customers such as assistance, care, help within the home and advice.

Leisure, education, advice

Villa Donnersmarck has been a core area of the foundation's work since 1963. Together with blisse14, it provides services in the field of leisure, education and advice for

• Specialist information in the form of conferences, jours fixes and lecture series
• Support for self-determination
• Events and cultural activities
• Counselling for all aspects of disability
• Venue for leisure and self-help groups

blisse14 is a barrier-free café belonging to the Fürst Donnersmarck Foundation and run by KOOP, an organisation promoting integration operated by Lankwitzer Werkstätten and Nordberliner Werkgemeinschaft.

Tourism

The foundation makes barrier-free holidays possible at two locations:

• At the Bad Bevensen guest house in the Lüneburger Heide (113 beds in 78 rooms). The building's own spa centre makes it possible for guests to unwind and relax.
• The foundation's travel agency in Wilmersdorf provides advice and information on all aspects of barrier-free travel. Its services also include day trips and short breaks.

Subsidiaries:

• HausRheinsberg (183 beds in 107 rooms) is a subsidiary of the Fürst Donnersmarck Foundation located on Lake Grienerick in Rheinsberg. The hotel offers a swimming pool with wheel chair access, a multi-purpose hall with stage and a seminar and conference area catering to the needs of the disabled. A separate Appartementhaus (26 beds in 6 apartments) on the same property provides holiday accommodation for groups.
• A further foundation subsidiary, Service Gesellschaft, runs Café Tucholsky together with two holiday apartments directly next to hotel HausRheinsberg on Lake Grienerick.

If you would like to know more, please send an email to [E-Mail-Adresse versteckt]. We will be delighted to send you further information.