The Rhönhof Tann is a lively cultural monument for inclusive, intergenerational and innovative living in rural.

The Rhönhof in Tann is a town Vierseithof, of which the living house from 1907 will be turned into an innovative culture and living project. The entire ensemble was declared a cultural monument and listed in 2014 by the state office for the preservation of monuments in Hesse.

The owner of the house Lothar Heißenberg, in agreement with his entire family, wised to offer it to a common good.

Future users of the building will be residents supported by the tanner Diakonie gGmbH as well as the culture and history society of Tann. In this way the previously empty monument, which was added to the program “Revival of empty constructions in the center” in Fulda, has been conceptualized for a future function for the town of Tann.

In the first floor, two small barrier-free, intergenerational single-apartments as well as rooms for the local culture and history society are planned. In the second floor and in the attic there will be room for a supervised group of 3. People with physical, psychological and mental disabilities can live in the house.

The focus of the project lies on offering people a living space in which they can live together, help each other learn and, with the help of new technologies, be able to live a relatively independent and normal day to day life.

The Rhönhof project aims to help integration and inclusion of disadvantaged people as well as maintain and document the history of the house, town and region for the following generations.

The project wants to protect the cultural heritage, strengthen and support community work. The demographical development will be part of the generation-spanning project – in the innovative living concept as well as through the valuable, voluntary work of the culture and history society.

The Rhönhof project is an active contribution to the development of the town center of Tann and to the promotion of attractive living in rural areas. The valorization of the “agricultural estate” will take place, with the surrounding exterior turned into a traditional farm and herb garden.

The Rhönhof is one of the last, actively used Vierseithöfe of the east Hesse region.

For the statistical and constructional securing of the building, agreed on in 2014-2015 with the state office for the preservation of monuments, a safety support was constructed to protect the southeastern corner of the building.

In February 2016, the actual project kick-off took place for the redevelopment of the living space and the restoration of the cultural monument. The choice of building material will take the history of the listed monument as well as the improvement of its energy efficiency into consideration. The building will be heated by a biomass system (wood pellets).

The Rhönhof project hopes to instigate a social impact in the town of Tann and strengthen the existing cultural and social initiatives. The involvement of all generations and the linking of professionals with people working voluntarily is the over-lying goal of the project.

The project is culturally, socially and technologically innovative and, considering the revival of the empty building in the town center, will be of importance to the community. In order for the building to maintain its social function in the long-term, the building was transferred to the AKTIV STIFTUNG.

The project is supported by Fulda county aid, by the state office for the preservation of monuments in Hesse and by funding from the EU-LEADER program “Rural Developments”.

A further generous support is offered by the Foundation Wohnhilfe.