Berta Wilhelmi of Granada
In the Sierra de Alfaguara, north-east of Alfacar, there is an old tuberculosis hospital. A German woman, Berta Wilhelmi, altruistically built the hospital to treat the disease that had killed her brother. Berta Wilhelmi was a great philanthropist throughout her life. A woman ahead of her time, she was concerned about social problems. After her death and after the civil war the Sanatorio was abandoned. It has been rehabilitated by the Alfacar Town Hall.
Bertha was born in Germany in 1858 and came to Granada at the age of twelve. She had an older brother called Fernando, who became the German consul in Granada. Her participation in the Institución Libre de Enseñanza was remarkable. She also took part in the feminist struggle and managed, with little success, her father's factory, of which she was the main heir when he died.
In 1912, with the support of the City Council, she created a mixed school in Pinos Genil and a library. She founded the first children's centres in Granada and several anti-tuberculosis health centres.
She later founded the Patronato Antituberculosos de la Alfaguara. Her great project was completed in 1923 with the construction of the Sanatorio de la Alfaguara, in which she invested all her savings.
In the spring of 1931, a stroke left her physically and mentally disabled. She died on 29 July 1934.