By Michael Seifert
The ‘Refugio’ in Hechingen is considered a showcase project for successful integration work with refugees, at least since it was awarded the Integration Prize of the State of Baden-Württemberg in the “Civil Society” category in 2025 from among 135 applicants. The jury’s reasoning is intriguing: “The project shows that integration, learning, living, and working, as well as revitalizing the village center, meeting people, and enjoying good food, do not have to be contradictory. The winner of this category combines all of these things! On the one hand, the project lays the initial foundations for the participation and integration of refugees, and on the other hand, it significantly revitalizes the center of a community by utilizing a vacant building,” said the jury. tuenews INTERNATIONAL took a look around “Refugio” and spoke with Almut Petersen from the Hechingen asylum circle, who has been running and responsible for the project from the beginning.
It all began at the end of 2023: the traditional Hotel Klaiber on Obertorplatz, the central square in Hechingen, had been standing empty for over a year, and the restaurant and café attached to it had already had to close during the coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, there was a great need for refugee accommodation, and suitable buildings were being sought everywhere so that emergency accommodation in gyms would no longer be necessary. A vacant hotel in the middle of town was the perfect solution – it was left in a condition „as if it were about to reopen the very next day,” as Almut Petersen reports: “The guest rooms only had to be cleaned once because of the dust.”
A cool idea – quickly implemented
The Hechingen Asylum Working Group, which has over 30 years of experience in caring for refugees, offering volunteer language courses, and creating opportunities for people to meet, took on the task. It developed the “cool idea” that it should not just be a simple new accommodation for refugees with rooms for German lessons, but that the central location in the middle of the city should be turned into a comprehensive project: “The population should also get something in return when accommodation is created in such a location. They should also be able to use this space again by reopening the café and restaurant,” says Almut Petersen. The idea was actually quite simple: “If food had to be cooked for the refugees anyway, we could also offer this food to guests.” Günther-Martin Pauli, district administrator of the Zollernalb district, immediately found a supporter for this idea and made the project his own. The district rented the building.
Right in the middle – from day one
The project had far-reaching consequences for the „new hotel guests,” refugees who were assigned from the initial reception center: “These people get involved from day one, they attend language courses, are trained for simple jobs, first in cleaning teams, then on machines, such as washing machines, then at the counter in the restaurant and in the kitchen,” says Petersen. “At first, this is done on a voluntary basis, which does not require a work permit. After a while, we can also hire people. Their German language skills would not yet be sufficient for the job market, but they are sufficient here because customers know and accept that not everything is perfect yet, that you might sometimes get the wrong drink. But you learn very quickly here. Even if someone has never been to school and still has to learn to read and write, they can learn the language through their work here.” Ultimately, residents are also referred to other employers. As a result, everyone who has been here for a while either has a job or is taking an integration course. “Four are even already in training, and that’s after a maximum of one and a half years of German lessons,” Petersen points out.
A new family – in a former hotel
Almut Petersen considers the psychological stabilization that the refugees experience in the project to be particularly important: „Almost all of them have had traumatic experiences, and many have also suffered severe psychological and/or physical injuries: torture, abuse in their home country or while fleeing.” The psychotherapeutic treatment that is actually necessary is practically impossible to obtain, so the trauma is dealt with here in the community within the project: „They are not lonely here, there is no anonymity. For new arrivals, there is a kind of buddy system, and relationships are formed immediately, even leading to joint celebrations.” In this way, a new „family” situation and a real home are created. „There is a daily structure and a sense of community here, which means that if I want to eat, I have to get dressed properly. This structure helps to prevent people from sinking into depression. People look after each other. They feel needed, not unwanted. No matter what the German state does to them, they are welcome here,“ Petersen summarizes. And when they are moved to another accommodation, they always come back to visit.
Added value for the population
And what added value does the Hechingen population get from the ‘Refugio’? ”We have a lot of walk-in customers. Families walk the Schaukelwanderweg trail and stop by for a visit. In the first summer, we were at times the only restaurant in the center that was open. On Mondays, there are events to which the local population is invited. Once a month, we offer a ‘country evening’ where the refugees provide information about their countries of origin and talk about their living conditions, customs, and culture. You can feel the homesickness in every sentence. And then they have to explain why they can’t return now.“ Finally, a poster exhibition in a publicly accessible room next door with text and picture portraits of the refugees informs visitors about their difficult fates and thus about the reasons for their flight.
Petersen sees a high level of acceptance among the population of Hechingen. During the project’s development, there was some resistance from parts of the local council, mainly because it was not involved in the decision, but also partly because of concerns about the content of the concept. The success story of the project has largely dispelled these concerns. Of course, the AfD, which is strong in Hechingen, also marches past the “Refugio” with its weekly demonstrations. “That’s why we were naturally concerned about the refugees living here at first. Fortunately, however, there have been no attacks on the Refugio, despite their fundamentally negative attitude towards refugees,” says Petersen.
Support from people and funds
When asked how all this was achieved, Almut Petersen points to the personal support provided by the district administrator and the team from the asylum working group. It was also a huge task for the employees at the district administration office to provide administrative support and implement such a large project alongside their other duties. Fifteen volunteer teachers make a crucial contribution to the language courses. Around 30 other volunteers take on organizational tasks, support the project in terms of content, do public relations work, and help with larger events, where they form mixed teams with the refugees. The work in the kitchen and catering is mainly done by the refugees themselves on a daily basis. Almut Petersen, managing director of the Refugio and chairwoman of the AK Asyl, holds the project together in a dual role.
The district administration finances the rooms, infrastructure, and care of the residents. “Everything beyond that has to be covered by the working group. The income from the restaurant accounts for about half of this, with the rest being financed by donations and subsidies from various sources,” explains Petersen. The high level of public attention, including national media coverage, for example on Tagesschau, Morgenmagazin, Spiegel Online, and even on French television, is an advantage. “And politicians have been coming in droves; even Minister President Kretschmann has visited us.” As a result, the project has just been awarded €80,000 in funding from the Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, and Integration for three years.
Refugio on the internet: AK Asyl Hechingen | Refugio
SWR | Integration project Refugio
ARD Mediathek | Model project Refugio
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