Stiftung Scheuern
A German Protestant diaconal foundation providing housing, care, education, therapy, employment, and community support for people with disabilities.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Stiftung Scheuern is a Protestant diaconal foundation headquartered in the Scheuern district of Nassau, Germany. It provides a broad network of individualized support for people with intellectual disabilities, acquired brain injuries, and mental illness. Its services extend well beyond conventional residential care: the foundation operates different forms of housing, outpatient assisted living, education and vocational training, sheltered workshops, employment opportunities in local companies, day-support programs, therapeutic services, leisure activities, counselling, preventive respite care, and community-oriented commercial projects. The institution traces its origins to the social crises of the mid-nineteenth century. It was established in 1850 as a Protestant rescue home for boys affected by poverty, homelessness, and the disruption of traditional communities during industrialization. The initial home operated in a schoolhouse in Hömberg before moving to Langenau Castle and later to Scheuern. During the second half of the nineteenth century, its mission gradually shifted from a rescue center for children and young people toward residential education, care, and support for people with intellectual disabilities and epilepsy. This transformation reflected both growing social demand and the limited availability of specialized institutions. Under the leadership of Moritz Desiderius Horny, the institution overcame major debts, expanded its buildings and landholdings, introduced medical support, and developed workshops, agriculture, livestock breeding, and trades such as carpentry, basket making, tailoring, straw weaving, and baking. The Supportive Housing Act of 1892 strengthened the financial basis of such institutions by placing accommodation costs for many residents with disabilities under public responsibility. The organization became increasingly structured and adopted the name Anstalt Scheuern in the early twentieth century. The First World War and its aftermath brought severe financial and nutritional difficulties. Public subsidies fell while food prices increased, and mortality rose during a period of deprivation. In the interwar period, the foundation reorganized its activities into specialized sections, including homes for children, nursing services for older residents, education for people with intellectual disabilities and epilepsy, workshops, agricultural training, and recreational services. A trained special-school teacher joined in 1928, marking a further development of its educational work. The institution's history is also inseparable from the crimes of National Socialism. During that era, Scheuern was the only Inner Mission institution used as an intermediate institution for the Hadamar Nazi killing center. More than 1,500 people passed through Scheuern before being murdered elsewhere, while 153 people died within the foundation's facilities during the period. The institution experienced forced sterilizations, ideological and militarized education, intensified punishments, and political pressure. In 1937, its governance was changed under pressure from the Nazi state and the provincial welfare administration. The foundation did not begin a conscious institutional confrontation with this past until the mid-1990s. Today, Stiftung Scheuern combines residential, outpatient, therapeutic, educational, vocational, and community services. Its central campus includes several historic listed buildings, while additional facilities operate in Nassau, Bad Ems, Nastätten, Laurenburg, Hillscheid, Misselberg, and surrounding communities. The foundation provides approximately 650 residential places, around 430 workshop employment places across its sites, and additional day-support and integration services. Its workshops include the Langauer Mill and other facilities, and its social enterprises include an orthopedic shoe-technology shop, a print and service center, world shops, a CAP market, and the Hofgut Mauch fruit farm. The foundation has approximately 1,200 employees and frames its work around participation, self-determination, individually designed assistance, and inclusion in community life.
History
Stiftung Scheuern began in 1850 amid the social dislocation caused by industrialization. Protestant chaplain Burchardi, teacher H. Reichard, and Countess Henriette von Giech supported the creation of a rescue home for boys experiencing poverty, neglect, or homelessness. The first resident entered a schoolhouse in Hömberg on October 18, 1850. In 1851, the home moved to Langenau Castle, where construction and organizational work were overseen by Eduard Zais. By 1865, the institution housed twenty boys and acquired the small castle at Scheuern, together with a mill and land. The castle originated in a sixteenth-century moated residence and later became the architectural center of the foundation. The institution's purpose changed during the 1860s and 1870s. Several rescue homes already existed in the Wiesbaden administrative district, while specialized provision for people with intellectual disabilities was scarce. From 1863, Moritz Desiderius Horny played a leading role in directing the home and helped move it toward education, care, and support for people with intellectual disabilities and epilepsy. The statutes of 1872 described the institution as Protestant, although people of other denominations could also be admitted and receive appropriate religious instruction. Horny stabilized the organization's finances, eliminated its debt, arranged for a hospital doctor in 1878, and oversaw substantial expansion. New or enlarged facilities included the Knabenhaus, now the Altes Haus, in 1875; the Mädchenhaus, now the Weißes Haus, in 1886; the Langauer Mill in 1888; and the Rote Haus, now Haus Bodelschwingh, in 1895. Workshops and agricultural operations became part of both the educational program and the institution's economic life. Carpentry, basket making, tailoring, straw weaving, baking, livestock breeding, and farming provided structured activity and vocational preparation. The Supportive Housing Act of 1892 improved the financial position of institutions serving people with disabilities by shifting many placement costs to the provincial welfare administration. At the beginning of the twentieth century, state influence over education increased, and a curriculum was required in 1902. The designation Anstalt Scheuern was used from 1905. The First World War then brought falling subsidies, rising food costs, loans, malnutrition, and increased mortality. In 1919, the institution was renamed the Scheuern Educational and Nursing Home for the Mentally Ill. A children's recreation home was established at the Langauer Mill in 1920 and later moved to Lahnberg. The organization was divided into specialized sections in 1931, including children's care, nursing provision, education, workshops, agriculture, and recreation. A trained special-school teacher was hired in 1928. Under National Socialism, the institution was subjected to ideological pressure, forced sterilization practices, militarized activities, labor-oriented education, and harsher disciplinary measures. In 1937, provincial welfare authorities demanded greater control over facilities whose residents were publicly funded. Under pressure, Scheuern adopted a Führer-style governance structure and its board was replaced by a single director. The foundation became the only Inner Mission institution used as an intermediate institution for the Hadamar Nazi killing center. More than 1,500 people were transferred through Scheuern before being murdered, and 153 people died on the premises during the period. The institution's postwar history included continued structural change, but an explicit confrontation with its Nazi-era role did not begin until the mid-1990s. In the contemporary period, Stiftung Scheuern has developed from a centralized residential institution into a regional provider of individualized assistance. It operates residential homes and outpatient services, educational and vocational programs, workshops, day-support centers, therapeutic services, counselling, leisure activities, and businesses designed to create employment and participation opportunities. Its facilities extend across Nassau and other communities in the region. The foundation uses the Gestaltung der Betreuung von Menschen mit Behinderung framework for quality assurance and presents self-determination, social participation, and inclusion as central goals. It is affiliated with Diakonie Hessen, the Bundesverband Evangelische Behindertenhilfe, and the Bundesverband Deutscher Stiftungen.
- 1990
Institutional confrontation with Nazi history began
[1]The foundation began a conscious process of addressing its role during National Socialism in the mid-1990s.
- 1977
Workshop officially recognized
[1]The foundation's workshop for people with disabilities received official state recognition.
- 1937
Governance changed under Nazi pressure
[1]The board was replaced by a single-director structure after pressure from the provincial welfare administration and Nazi authorities.
- 1931
Institution divided into specialized sections
[1]The organization created distinct sections for children, nursing, education, workshops, agriculture, and recreation.
- 1928
First trained special-school teacher appointed
[1]The appointment strengthened the institution's specialized educational provision.
- 1905
Anstalt Scheuern designation adopted
[1]The institution began using the name Anstalt Scheuern.
- 1892
Supportive Housing Act changed funding
[1]Public authorities assumed more responsibility for accommodation costs, strengthening the economic basis of disability institutions.
- 1888
Langauer Mill added
[1]The Langauer Mill became part of the expanding institutional and vocational estate.
- 1875
Knabenhaus acquired
[1]The institution acquired the building now known as the Altes Haus.
- 1869
Mission broadened to disability education and care
[1]The institution formally developed responsibilities for educating and supporting people with intellectual disabilities.
Products and positioning
A Protestant diaconal provider focused on person-centered disability assistance, social participation, self-determined living, education, vocational inclusion, and community-based support.
Disability support
Residential services
Stiftung Scheuern operates a range of residential settings for people with intellectual disabilities, acquired brain injuries, and mental illness. The network includes campus-based and community homes, with different levels of assistance intended to reflect individual needs. Residential provision is complemented by outpatient assisted living, enabling some people to live with support in ordinary community settings rather than in a centralized institution.
Vocational services · 1977
Workshops and vocational training
The foundation provides work preparation, vocational training, and sheltered employment through recognized workshops, including the Langauer Mill and facilities in the surrounding region. Workshop activities support participation in working life for people who need a protected environment, while integration services and employment in local companies create additional pathways toward community-based work.
Care and therapy
Day-support and therapeutic services
Day-support centers serve people who cannot participate in a workshop because of the nature or severity of their disabilities. The foundation also offers therapeutic assistance, counselling for people experiencing mental illness, leisure programs, day activities, and respite care intended to support individuals and their families.
Inclusive employment
Social enterprises
Stiftung Scheuern manages or supports several enterprises designed to combine commercial activity with inclusion. Examples include an orthopedic shoe-technology shop, a print and service center, world shops, the CAP market in Hillscheid, and Hofgut Mauch, a fruit farm using controlled cultivation. These activities provide work opportunities and practical participation outside conventional residential care.
Controversies
Role in the Nazi killing program
During National Socialism, Scheuern was used as an intermediate institution for the Hadamar Nazi killing center. More than 1,500 people were transferred through the institution before being murdered, and 153 people died within its facilities. The institution also experienced forced sterilization and other forms of Nazi coercion. A deliberate institutional reckoning with this history began only in the mid-1990s.
Brand decisions
1937
Adoption of centralized governance under Nazi pressureStrategyBackground
Provincial welfare authorities threatened financial support and the relocation of publicly funded residents if the institution resisted state control.
Action taken
The board of directors was abolished and replaced by a single-director structure aligned with the Führer principle.
Aftermath
The governance change increased state and Nazi influence and preceded the foundation's use as an intermediate institution for the Hadamar killing center.
1863
Shift from rescue home to disability institutionStrategyBackground
The region had many rescue homes for children, while specialized provision for people with intellectual disabilities was limited.
Action taken
Under Moritz Desiderius Horny's leadership, the institution redirected its work toward education, care, and support for people with intellectual disabilities and epilepsy.
Aftermath
The change established the institutional mission that ultimately developed into the modern foundation's disability-support model.
Sources2 sources
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