Anstaltskirche Sonnenstein

The Anstaltskirche Sonnenstein, also known as the Parkkirche Sonnenstein, is located on the Sonnenstein plateau in Pirna, Saxony. Built between 1900 and 1902 as part of the Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Sonnenstein (a psychiatric and care institution), the neo-Gothic sandstone church with Jugendstil interior details could seat around 325 people and was consecrated on October 31, 1902. During the Nazi era, the church was deconsecrated in 1939 and the parish dissolved in 1940. Under the GDR regime, it served as a warehouse for the state-owned company VEB Strömungsmaschinenbau Pirna. Since 1996 the building has been privately owned and largely abandoned. Although in a ruinous state, it is considered “ruinous yet worth preserving.” Occasionally it hosts cultural events under the name Kulturkirche Rosenwerk. The church stands within a historically charged area, as the former Sonnenstein institution was one of the sites used in the Nazi Aktion T4 euthanasia program during World War II.