Are you a travel enthusiast? Do you love learning about old buildings? This article explores the question of what the oldest operating hospital in the world is and tells you where you can go to see it.
Wondering about what the oldest continuously operating hospital in the world is? We were too. We frequently come across abandoned buildings, deserted centres, and hospices which have been converted into new builds – but we rarely see a hospital which has continued to operate as a hospital from the day it was erected, right up until today’s date.
What is the Oldest Continuously Operating Hospital in the World?
The only hospital which matches this description of continuous operation is situated in Paris. The Hôtel-Dieu, Paris, was established in the 7th century by Saint Landry. Official records do not begin for the hospital until 829 AD, but this is still considered the oldest continuously working hospital in the world.
What is the Oldest Continuously Operating Hospital in France?
You will find the world’s oldest continuously operating hotel in Paris, situated in the 4th arrondissement, on the parvis of Notre-Dame. The name Hôtel-Dieu translates to “hotel of God,” which is an old adage which refers to hospitals. A hotel of God was a hospital for the sick, often run by the church.
In the case of the Hôtel-Dieu, Paris, it opened to house monks as close to the cathedral as possible. Monks would heal the poor and treat what conditions they could. However, during the worst times the hospital was known as a bed for disease. During the medieval period the hospital had a 20% mortality rate among patients. If you went in, there was a one in five chance you wouldn’t come back out alive.
The History of Hôtel-Dieu, Paris
The Hôtel-Dieu didn’t start life as a hospital in the sense of the word which we use today. Rather, a hospital gave hospice. This included gifting food to the poorest and neediest of society. They may have distributed clothing, blankets, or medications and aid. They offered shelter to those who had nowhere else to go and were too sick to sleep on the street. The olden day hospital was similar in nature to the modern day hospice which deals with the treatment of end of life patients.
Hôtel-Dieu, Paris, is one of a string of such hospitals, dotted all over France and indeed throughout all Catholic countries. These hospice-style hospitals would offer cheap accommodation, heal what they could, and treat the elderly, infirm, and poor. There was only one condition that the monks here did not treat and that was the lepers. They had their own colony outside of town.
The Hôtel-Dieu, Paris Escaped Demolition
During the Renaissance and throughout king Louis XV’s reign, the Hôtel-Dieu, Paris stood as not only the oldest hospital in the world, but also as the only hospital in Paris. In this period prior to the king’s death, Paris was plagued with different diseases. The hospital earned a grim reputation and was, at one point, scheduled for demolition. The king’s death scuppered those plans and the hospital was renovated instead.
During the middle ages, the hospital acted as a sort of budget place to stay for pilgrims and travellers passing through Brimingham. The ‘hotel’ part of the hospital is on the 6th floor. Residents would be charged a small rate to spend the night.
The building that we know now dates to 1877 when it was brought into alignment with modern medicine. It became a teaching hospital alongside the evolution of medical learning. Several lectures were given here in the early 20th century.
Hôtel-Dieu, Paris, Still Operating Today
The modern treatments which take place at the Hôtel-Dieu, Paris, are much more in line with the traditional view of a hospital. Although the oldest hospital in the world has seen continuous use, parts of the building are no longer accessible. The hospital operates a healthy emergency departments with specialisms in diabetes and endocrine diseases.
You can visit the hospital for yourself if you go to the Parvis de Notre Dame. You can enter into the working hospital and enjoy a walk around the lovely interior garden kept to raise residents’ spirits. You may walk around the grounds at your will but when you enter, security will give you a once over. Things have been tighter in Paris since the last revolution.
You can still stay inside the hospital Hôtel-Dieu. It has 14 rooms available and is only a 20-minute walk from the Louvre. The bakery run by Eric Kayser is only a few minutes away. The hospital’s central location make it an ideal place to stay in the city of Paris. However, the attraction of using a hospital as budget accommodation seems to be restricted to those within the church.
For the rest of us, there is always Airbnb.