Summary/Abstract: Long-lived intertwining of socio-cultural as well as health-related and biological aspects of old age is shown by an example of old people’s homes where the last haven is also found by, in the eyes of the society, the “others”. Keeping track of the developments in placing the elderly in care homes, from poorhouses to modern gerontology centres, provided a basis for understanding the manner for constructing the designated characteristic of the “otherness”. This is an enduring process, creating an almost indestructible link between the old and the corps of all kinds of unfortunates, most often united by poverty.
