Jydske Asylum - Risskov Hospital

Facts

When madness became a physical illness

By Inger-Marie Børgesen, Museumsleder, etnolog (22 stories)

Consultant Psychiatrist Harald Selmer welcomed the first patients to Jydske Asylum in Risskov in 1852. The building was designed by architect Michael Gottlieb Bindesbøll and reflected basic optimism and faith in the idea that madness" could be cured. Medical science therefore flouted the idea that had prevailed for centuries that mental illness was God's punishment for sinful lifestyles. It could be explained medically as a fault in the brain. Now it was a matter of treating the patients in a calm, friendly and isolated environment to protect them from the disturbing impressions of the outside world. Not to protect the surroundings! Jydske Asylum offered treatment rather than a spell in the restraining box. "

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Brain matters

Story written by Inger-Marie Børgesen

Time / Periode 1852

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A basement under the Psychiatric Hospital in Risskov contains 9,479 brains. The brain collection was possible when the Directorate for State Mental Hospitals established the Cerebral Pathology Institute. The purpose was to examine brains. The harvesting of brains from dead mental patients began in 1945. Back then, no one considered asking the patients themselves or their relatives for permission to take the brains. Today, this is not permitted, and the collection ended in 1982. Despite the ethical aspects of the brain collection, it has contributed to important research into schizophrenia and Alzheimers, and is currently attracting renewed interest as advanced scanning technology means brain matter can be examined at cellular level. The new research could help to develop new antidepressants.