About Kölner Krankenhaussender

Kölner Krankenhaussender

The Kölner Krankenhaussender is the house radio of the Cellitinnen-Krankenhaus St. Hildegardis in Cologne-Lindenthal — and one of Germany's oldest hospital radio stations. Since 1970 volunteers have made radio for patients: twice a week live from a studio under the hospital roof, around the clock with a full programme, and for one day a year even as a television station when the hospital's big Karnevalssitzung is broadcast live with picture to every room — the hospital's own broadcaster, the patients' own station, the fifty-year volunteer service. The motto is "Musik ist die beste Medizin" — music is the best medicine — not a cure, not a therapy, but the support of the healing process, the joy as the medicine. The story: a group of radio-enthusiastic young people founded the "Arbeitskreis Krankenhaus" in 1970, recorded shows at home on tape and played them over the St. Franziskus Hospital's house system; in 1974 they moved to St. Hildegardis and went live; in 1984 the association was founded; in 2024 the station celebrated its 50th anniversary with Cologne's music legends — the half-century of the attic studio, the jubilee with the Höhner. Around twenty active volunteers, a self-built studio, a manual craft — the hospital's own voice, fifty years strong — the volunteers' Cologne, the patients' radio.

Overview

The Kölner Krankenhaussender broadcasts exclusively for the patients of the Cellitinnen-Krankenhaus St. Hildegardis in Cologne-Lindenthal (Bachemer Straße 29-33, 50931 Köln). Twice a week — Wednesday and Saturday — the volunteers go live from their studio in the hospital's attic: two moderators and a technician, the typical team, the shows transmitted to the rooms (and receivable on the TVs in the patient rooms) — the regular rhythm of the hospital week, the live voice under the roof. Outside the live hours a 24-hour programme runs: repeats of the live shows — the Wunschkonzert, the shows with prominent guests or special topics — plus literature readings, relaxation music and short pre-produced features — the round-the-clock companion since 2000, the night shift of the volunteers' tapes. The programme is exclusive: made for the hospital's patients, in the hospital, by volunteers who know the house — the house radio in the true sense, the station that belongs to the beds.

The station's speciality is the Karneval: since 2010 the Krankenhaussender has broadcast the hospital's annual big Karnevalssitzung live to the rooms; since 2012 it becomes a TV station for a day, transmitting the session with picture live to the televisions — the fifth season in the patient room, the Alaaf from the attic studio. The 50th anniversary on 24 August 2024 was the same: the Saturday Wunschkonzert live with picture from the Bistro Laurentius, with the whole management, chief physicians, nursing staff and patients present — and with Cologne's legends: Ludwig Sebus (the kölsche Urgestein and honorary member, who made the audience laugh with anecdotes and touched them with musical performances), F.M. Willizil ("Dä Hoot", ex-Höhner) and Henning Krautmacher (ex-Höhner frontman, who spoke movingly about his wife's cancer and encouraged the listeners not to let their own illness get them down, moving the room to touched silence with "Unsere Wääch" — the song in which he processed living through his wife's illness).

History

The station was founded in 1970 as the "Arbeitskreis Krankenhaus" by a group of radio-enthusiastic young people. They wanted to do social good and chase the gloomy thoughts away from sick people for a few hours a week — with music and good cheer — the founding impulse, the social engagement as the programme. The shows were first recorded at home on tape and then played in the St. Franziskus Hospital in Cologne-Ehrenfeld over the house radio system — the bedroom studio era, the tape as the transmitter. In the summer of 1974, with the switch to live broadcasts, the team moved to the St. Hildegardis-Krankenhaus, where the management gave them a large attic room — which the small team converted into a speaker studio with adjoining technology — the attic as the home, the live era's beginning. Since then two live shows a week have been transmitted to the rooms.

The team grew considerably; in 1984 the "Arbeitskreis Krankenhaus" became the Kölner Krankenhaussender e.V. — the working group becoming the association, the hobby becoming the institution. Since 2000 the station has offered, alongside the live shows, a round-the-clock programme — the millennium's expansion, the night filled with the volunteers' repeats. In 2009 the first chairman Rolf Krahforst — representing the whole team — was awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande for his social engagement — the Federal Cross of Merit as the state's thanks, the volunteers' honour. In 2024 the station celebrated its 50th anniversary — the half-century of the hospital's own voice — the 24 August jubilee, the fifty years of "Hier ist der Kölner Krankenhaussender".

Programming

The live heart is the twice-weekly show: Wednesday and Saturday, two moderators, one technician, the "Hier ist der Kölner Krankenhaussender" — the Saturday noon Wunschkonzert the flagship, the music wishes of the patients, the greetings that relatives and friends can send through the station's website — the request concert as the ritual, the patients' voices in the programme. The 24-hour programme fills the rest: repeats, readings, relaxation music, short features — the night's companion, the volunteers' tapes keeping watch. On special occasions the team broadcasts live from the ward, the bistro, the courtyard or the chapel — the radio going to the patients — the mobile studio, the station leaving the attic. And once a year the Karnevalssitzung: since 2010 live, since 2012 with picture — the hospital's fifth season on the room TVs — the Alaaf in the patient room, the Karneval's inclusion.

Organization and Ownership

The Kölner Krankenhaussender e.V. is a registered non-profit association, run entirely by volunteers: around twenty active members (seventeen at the 2024 anniversary) plus numerous supporting members, meeting monthly to plan the next month — the monthly planning round, the volunteers' democracy. Most are not professional presenters, journalists or technicians — they do it for the joy of radio and the chance to use skills their day jobs don't fully use — the amateur's passion, the professional's day job left at the door. The studio technology and furniture are largely self-built, tailored to the team's needs; the production is deliberately manual — the craft as the ethos — the self-built mixing desk, the handmade furniture, the manual radio. The station is the hospital's partner: the Cellitinnen-Krankenhaus St. Hildegardis provides the attic, the house system, the audience — the hospital's roof, the station's home, the fifty-year partnership. Detailed financial figures are not publicly confirmed in the sources consulted.

Digital Presence

The station's website krankenhaussender.de is the greetings desk: relatives and friends can greet patients in St. Hildegardis and combine the greeting with a music wish — the digital bridge to the bedside — the online greeting, the on-air wish, the family's voice in the room. The site documents the history, the team, the photo gallery (including the 50th anniversary with the Höhner legends) — the fifty years made visible — the archive of the attic, the jubilee's pictures. The stream is the house: the programme for the rooms, the website for the world. "Musik ist die beste Medizin" — music is the best medicine — the motto on the site, the mission in the attic, the Kölner Krankenhaussender's fifty-year prescription — the medicine of music, the volunteers' daily dosage, twice a week live, always.