Berlin is home to Europe’s first gay nursing home, according to an article in Melbourne’s Herald Sun.
The four-storey home will house up to 28 residents in state-of-the art single rooms with ensuites and enough space for individual furnishings.
Christian Hamm, an architect and member of the home’s board, stressed that furnishings and décor are of extra importance in a gay environment.
“When you’re old, the last thing that you want to do is to have to hide,” Mr Hamm said.
“And you certainly don’t want to give up your identity and live in some hostile environment, possibly sharing a room with someone who despises you.”
Elderly members of the city’s gay community have already expressed interest in the new home and some have signed up for a place.
“I wouldn’t like to be in a heterosexual environment all the time,” one applicant said.
“Elderly people like to talk about their children and their grandchildren, for instance.
“A large number of homosexuals find it hard to join in.”
The German capital’s gay mayor, Klaus Wowereit, said the project was the result of many years of planning and fundraising.
