In 1768, the monastery caught fire. Prince Abbot Gerbert ordered for the stones of the burned out baroque church, which was completely destroyed, to be used to build the infirmary on the opposite side of the Alb River.
During the post-monastic age, the infirmary was privatized and offices were built. In 1905 and 1906, the bookseller and printer, Johann Weißenberger, built a multi-storey house with rich woodwork onto the eastern side of the infirmary.
It was Grand Duke Frederick who advised the people of St. Blasien to build their houses in the refined Swiss style, so numerous houses with woodwork, bays, and turrets cropped up. The most beautiful of those still preserved is the Schmidt Arkaden House.
The merchant Gustav Schmidt had a fashion boutique and textile business in the old infirmary, while the Weißenberger family ran the bookstore’s printing business in the large, wooden house.
In 1978, the infirmary building was extended and stylishly modernized. It was a perfect ensemble between the monastic infirmary from 1768 and the art nouveau house from 1906. The arcade square, with its artistically designed fountain by Tone Kalle, is also a successful work of art.