- The Vincentius area has a rich history, spanning from a Benedictine monastery to a hospital and, finally, the modern residential district Laubenhof, reflecting the transformation of the city.
- After years of disputes and a heated debate over the future of the property, the hospital was permanently relocated in 2008.
- Numerous proposals for its use were discussed – ranging from a parking garage to a concert hall – before the city ultimately decided to create housing and commercial spaces.
- Criticism focused primarily on the lack of citizen participation and what many saw as insufficient consideration of the concert hall idea.
- Since 2023, the new buildings of Laubenhof have been occupied, while the listed monastery building still awaits renovation.
- The project exemplifies the urban planning challenges in Konstanz and the pressing issue of affordable housing in the city center.
Since early 2023, the Laubenhof stands on the site of the former Vincentius Hospital, located between Untere Laube and Schottenstraße1. While the listed monastery building on Gartenstraße still awaits renovation, life has already moved into the adjacent new construction.
But what was the journey like from the initial idea to the planning and implementation of this new building? Who made the decisions? What alternatives could have been chosen? And what lessons can be learned from this process?
A Long Look Back
To understand the present, it’s often worth delving into the past—especially when a place’s history stretches as far back as it does here. The names Schottenstraße and Schottenplatz hint at the first inhabitants: as early as the 7th century, Scottish monks founded a Benedictine monastery on this site. The monastery was dissolved during the Reformation.
As space within the city became increasingly scarce, burial grounds were moved outside the city gates in the 16th century, and the city purchased the decaying monastery. In its place, the Schotten Cemetery was established, which was expanded several times until the late 19th century. However, the ground was marshy, and the city’s population grew. The graves had to be relocated once again. The cemetery was closed in 1870, but the chapel on Schottenstraße has remained intact to this day.
On the grounds of the former cemetery, the Schotten Gymnasium was built in 1898, followed shortly by the current Humboldt Gymnasium. South of this area, the Vincentius Association acquired land in 1885 to construct a hospital. Founded in 1863 by sisters of the Hegne convent, the association was dedicated to caring for the sick and those in need. The first building, inaugurated in 1888, still stands today at the corner of Untere Laube and Gartenstraße.
Initially, the hospital catered exclusively to those in need. However, in 1922, it opened its doors to all, which quickly led to overcrowding. An expansion became necessary and was inaugurated as early as 1935. With modern facilities and additional beds, the hospital experienced another period of growth.
During World War II, it temporarily served as a private clinic and military hospital, later being utilized by the French occupying forces. Regular operations resumed in 1950, but discussions about relocating to a quieter site began once more. Why? The increasingly car-centric urban planning of the 1960s was becoming apparent.
When the Schotten Gymnasium burned down in 1963, the Vincentius AG acquired the property, enabling the next major expansion, which was completed in 1975. This structure defined the appearance of the “Vince” for decades. Alongside the historic monastery building and the modest 1930s extensions, a quintessential concrete structure of the 1970s now stood on Untere Laube.
From Founding to Takeover
The Vincentius was long a significant general hospital for the city and the entire region. Crucial to its development were the changes in ownership: the sisters from Hegne, who founded the association, transformed it into a joint-stock company as early as 1885.
For many years, they, along with a supervisory board, held the majority of the shares. In 1994, they sold these shares to Deutsche Ordens-Hospitalwerk GmbH. Then, in 2003, the Spitalstiftung of the City of Konstanz purchased 95 percent of the shares, taking on responsibility for the further development of the hospital. A small portion of shares remained with minor shareholders.
New Plans and Resistance
After the Spitalstiftung of the City of Konstanz took over Vincentius AG in 2003, plans quickly emerged to consolidate the Vincentius Hospital and the Konstanz Clinic in one location. The aim was to avoid duplicate structures, circumvent the necessary investments in the buildings at Untere Laube, and achieve shorter distances and better collaboration through the proximity of the general hospital and the orthopedic clinic.
However, these plans sparked fierce resistance. Employees feared losing their jobs and the hospital’s independence. Many residents of Konstanz saw the specialized care provided by Vincentius at risk. For many, the hospital was a place of personal memories, as they or their children had been born there.
The minority shareholders also felt sidelined and feared losing their influence. Tensions peaked in the fall of 2006, following the brief dismissal of Chief Physician Martin Lukoschek—who had also opposed the relocation—and a subsequent demonstration in the old town.
From Old Hospital to New District: What Happens to the Property?
In August 2008, after years of conflict, the city and minority shareholders reached an agreement to relocate the hospital. The construction costs for the new building were estimated at €27.5 million, with the promise of substantial state funding.
But as soon as this dispute was resolved, the next debate flared up: how should the coveted inner-city property be used? Proposals ranged from expanding schools and parking facilities to building an event hall.
In November 2008, Mayor Horst Frank mentioned for the first time the possibility of creating housing on the site. At the same time, the financial situation of the hospital deteriorated drastically: in November, it was revealed that the hospital faced a €50 million deficit and that the planned new building would be more expensive. The amount of state funding remained uncertain.
The first mention of selling the Vincentius site came in February 2009. Social Affairs Mayor Claus Boldt spoke of a quick sale and an expected revenue of €3 million. However, 2009 passed without any clear decisions, while the cost issue remained unresolved.
Concrete Plans and New Debates
Discussions about the costs and funding of the new hospital building began in January 2010 between the city and the state. In May, the city council called for the development of an urban planning concept for the Vincentius area. By December, negotiations over funding gaps and state support were concluded. The Spitalstiftung announced that the construction costs for the new hospital would amount to €8 million, minus the anticipated €3 million from the sale of the property.
At the same time, the debate over a new event venue reached its peak. In a March 2010 referendum, the majority voted against building a concert hall on the Klein Venedig site. However, in December, retired architect Edgar Kießling brought fresh energy to the discussion. He proposed an event venue on the Vincentius site and presented detailed plans. While many city council factions found the proposal worth considering, Mayor Horst Frank firmly rejected the idea. For him, the topic of a „concert hall“ was off the table for the time being.
A Decision for Housing?
In 2011, the debate over affordable housing in Konstanz gained momentum. This led to broader discussions about developing housing on the Vincentius site. To have as much freedom as possible in shaping the area’s future, the Spitalstiftung purchased the remaining shares in August. However, the question of what would come next remained unanswered.
In September, the city council submitted a cross-party motion calling for a comprehensive concept for the Vincentius site. Two options were under discussion: a combination of residential and park use or the creation of an event venue. But when the administration presented its plans in November, the decision already seemed to have been made:
“The future use of the Vincentius site should reflect the surrounding uses“ – this primarily means residential use with commercial spaces on the ground floors.
Additionally, variants for the development were already presented. At the time, the administration planned to further refine these concepts, consider new requests from the HTWG and Humboldt Gymnasium, and prepare a competition. However, the decision was postponed and referred to the Technical and Environmental Committee (TUA).
Progress stalled again in 2012. In January, the TUA learned that the city lacked the necessary capacity to complete the studies commissioned back in 2010. The TUA urged making the Vincentius site a priority, particularly in light of the potential for an event venue.
In June, the city council was finally set to make a decision. Two options were up for a vote: continuing plans for a mixed-use residential and commercial district with an underground parking garage or considering an event venue. The administration emphasized that only the sale of the property for residential and commercial purposes would generate the necessary revenue. Otherwise, the city would have to cover the financial shortfall itself. However, the decision was postponed once again.
Restart and Growing Criticism
In 2013, the Vincentius site came back into focus. The foundation stone for the new hospital on Mainaustraße had been laid, and the Free Green List (FGL) demanded clarity in the TUA about the timeline for the site’s development. The city administration announced plans to prepare the urban planning competition in the second half of 2013. Before that, student designs from HTWG were expected to provide fresh ideas. The goal remained a mixed-use district, primarily residential, with a portion dedicated to affordable housing.
In May, criticism boiled over in the city council: factions accused the administration of prematurely dismissing the concert hall idea, hastily prioritizing residential use, and barely involving the public. The lack of inclusion of Vincentius Hospital AG also sparked discontent.
In September, the TUA revisited the motions from previous years. The administration proposed preparing the urban planning competition and organizing public participation. The idea of an event venue was almost entirely dismissed—according to then Building Mayor Kurt Werner, the limited space and expected traffic made it unfeasible.
„The location of the property really only allows for residential development,“ was his assessment.
The architect Edgar Kießling expressed his disappointment: „It’s meant to be a suggestion, nothing more. But I expect it to be discussed because I’ve demonstrated that the available space is sufficient for the concert hall.“ The editor-in-chief of the Südkurier’s local editorial team, Jörg-Peter Rau, already predicted at the time the direction things would take:
„No one should be under the illusion that truly affordable housing will be built in a second-row location by the Seerhein.“
And further: „Now time is pressing, and in the end, everything will have to move very quickly again. Yet, despite years of preparation, there will be no clear perspective by the time Vincentius relocates. And this in a city where the availability of a site of this size is an almost historic opportunity.“
A Long Road to Clear Decisions
By this point, more than five years had passed since the decision to relocate the Vincentius hospital. While construction of the new hospital steadily progressed, time was running out to find a good solution for the site. Nevertheless, it would take another ten years before the project reached its preliminary conclusion and the first residents moved into the new Laubenhof.
In the second and third parts, we continue to follow the transformation from the Vincentius Hospital to the Laubenhof and give experts a platform to address key questions: Which promises were kept? What lessons can be learned from this project?
Finally, we focus on the topic of „Affordable Housing,“ exploring the perspectives and ideas that exist—and how they could be applied to Konstanz.
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