Hotel-Dieu (Beaune)

Courtyard of the Hôtel-Dieu

The Hôtel-Dieu is a former hospital in Beaune . It was founded in 1443 and used as a hospital until 1971 . The Hôtel-Dieu is now part of the Hospices Civils de Beaune complex . Today parts of the old complex are used as a retirement home, while the rest can be visited as a museum and provide an interesting insight into nursing in the early modern period .

history

Rogier van der Weyden : Nicolas Rolin

After the Hundred Years War , people in the Côte-d'Or region suffered from oppressive poverty. Many were threatened with starvation. In the small town of Beaune, almost three quarters of all residents were threatened by it, as the chaos of war had left them penniless. Striving for their own salvation, Nicolas Rolin , Chancellor of the Burgundian Duke Philip the Good , and his wife Guigone de Salins decided to found a hospital here:

“I, Nicolas Rolin, knight, citizen of Autun, Lord of Authume and Chancellor of Burgundy, on this Sunday, the 4th day of August, in the year of the Lord 1443, […] in the interests of my soul, striving for it, earthly To exchange gifts for God's gifts, […] I found and irrevocably bequeath to the city of Beaune a hospital for the poor sick, with a chapel, in honor of God and his glorious mother […] ”

The foundation stone was laid by Nicolas Rolin in 1443, as can still be seen today on the entrance portal. On January 1, 1452, the hospital admitted its first patient.

Rolin provided the hospital with 1,000 Tourainer pounds annually, based on the income from the “Great Saltworks” of Salins. A "maître" was responsible for managing the facility; this had to lead a community of "pious women", the "Béguines venues de Malines", who received their rule in 1459. The pastoral care was entrusted to two chaplains, and finally Chancellor Rolin himself supervised the further development of the “Hôtel-Dieu”. After his death in 1461, his wife, Guigone de Salins, looked after the hospital.

Over the years, many residents of the region bequeathed extensive property to the hospital. The allocation of assets to the surrounding smaller hospitals in the 17th century further improved the financial resources of the hospice. Over the centuries, therefore, numerous alterations and extensions took place, but the late medieval appearance has been preserved to this day. The main buildings (north and south wings) date from the 15th century. In the 17th and 18th centuries, stylistically adapted side wings were added so that the ensemble now forms a square encompassing the inner courtyard. Three of the buildings were built in the Renaissance style. The colorful roofs, which consist of different colored glazed terracotta tiles and have numerous skylights, are particularly striking . The late Gothic entrance building, with its gray stones and slate roof , is a clear contrast to this.

Until well into the 20th century, old people, the disabled, orphans, the sick, giving birth and those in need came to the institution.

Floor plan of the hospital

Numerous halls are grouped around the rectangular courtyard, each of which served different purposes. The following list lists the rooms, starting at the entrance, clockwise:

Great hall of the poor

The large hall for the poor with a chapel is - as the name suggests - the largest room for nursing. It was inaugurated in 1452 and until 1951 housed the sick and the poor. The furniture consists of 30 beds in two rows, each with 2 people. This was not done for reasons of space, but to give the patients the opportunity to warm each other. Otherwise there were only pewter hot water bottles, tapestries and curtains for warming . Central heating was only installed in 1925. The room has only a few windows. The doctors of the time were convinced that dreaded diseases such as plague , measles or flu would spread particularly well in bad air. A hospital ward had to be sealed off from the unclean air ( miasms ) entering from outside . Only a few, small openings were allowed in the building. The air mass inside, which is only slowly exchanged as a result, has been purified with aromatic fragrances and herbal extracts or incense .

Barrel vault

The interior ceiling is a barrel vault paneled in chestnut wood , structured by painted support beams that protrude from the jaws of medieval dragons. The roof symbolizes an upside-down hull and should offer the sick a safe atmosphere. The chapel at the end of the room enabled the sick to watch Holy Mass from their bed and at the same time to thank the benefactors of the facility with their prayers. The Last Judgment , the winged altar by the Flemish painter Rogier van der Weyden, hung in this chapel .

The 17th century was a period of activity for the hospice with a capacity of 160 beds. With great financial outlay, additional space was created to accommodate the sick. Only a few nobles were looked after in the very small "Sainte Anne" hall, which is adjacent at right angles.

The “Saint Hugues” room was also used to care for well-off sick people. The establishment (around 1645) of the hall with its 12 beds was made possible by a donation. The magnificent pictures by the painter Isaac Moillon represent miracles from the ministry of Jesus and are intended to convey hope to the seriously ill who are cared for here.

The “Saint Nicolas” room was intended for the care of patients who were in acute danger of death. In 1658, the young Louis XIV made the necessary funds available. Thus, the Hôtel-Dieu could always achieve a separation of the different degrees of illness. Only then was it possible to separate male and female patients.

a large kitchen including dishes and a Gothic fireplace

a pharmacy with pewter vessels and bottles and faience from Nevers, some of which still contain drugs . In the pharmacy, the medicines, mostly natural remedies, were kept in glasses or earthenware pots.

an adjoining small laboratory for the production of drugs

The conclusion was a large barn. In 1661, however, this was expanded as more space was needed for patient care. Today the hall is called "Saint Louis" and serves as an exhibition space.

A bakery originally formed the end. This is where the bread that was distributed among the poor in the city was baked. Since a contract was signed with the bakers of Beaune in 1828, in which they promised to take on the task of baking bread for the poor, the old ovens were demolished some time later and the Saint Louis room was enlarged.

Furnishing

Court of honor

Altar: The Last Judgment

From the beginning, the hospital attracted attention due to its magnificent furnishings. Nicolas Rolin had set himself the goal of making the Hôtel-Dieu one of the most beautiful hospitals in France. He got his inspiration from numerous trips to Flanders . He wanted to far surpass the local hospitals.

Using a detailed inventory from 1501, one can still understand today that Nicolas Rolin had furnished the establishment with works of art, furniture, tapestries and other items since it was founded. Most important is the large polyptych of the Last Judgment , which was once placed in the chapel of the great hall of the poor. It was designed by Rogier van der Weyden (1399–1464) and is now hanging in the “Saint Louis” room.

Thanks to numerous foundations, gifts and legacies from benefactors or the sick, the splendor of the building complex increased over the centuries, so that it was not uncommon to speak of a palace for the poor . An inventory showed that there are around 2500 pieces of furniture, beds, chests and 2500 items such as tapestries, pictures, sculptures and apothecary jars in the house.

architecture

The Hôtel-Dieu is a typical building of the Flemish Gothic . The already mentioned colored roofs found considerable distribution in Burgundy , so that they are considered typical of this region. Originally, however, they come from Austria-Hungary.

financing

Hospices de Beaune, Cuvée Dames-Hospitalières 1982

To this day, the hospital is mainly financed by the income from vineyards , which have come into the possession of the hospice through inheritance and legacies over the centuries. Once a year during the “Trois Glorieuses”, the three glorious days, an auction of barrel wine from the foundation's property takes place in the hospice of Beaune. Anyone concerned about their reputation as a wine merchant in France will try to buy a barrel. The prices for these barrels thus carry a kind of "social surcharge", but they are also a rough indicator of the quality of a vintage of Burgundy wines for the entire wine trade : If high prices are achieved at the Hospice auction in Beaune, the entire Burgundy wine is sold -Vintage expensive. There are extensive tastings from the barrels in advance , and experts from all regions of France come to evaluate the new vintage.

The hospice include documents in the finest districts of the surrounding Côte-d'Or . Many Premier Cru sites and also some Grand Cru sites belong to the property. The wines bear the names of the respective donors. The cuvées " Nicolas Rolin" and "Guigone de Salins" , Beaune Premier Cru and Corton "Docteur Peste" are particularly well known . More recent foundations include the Mazis-Chambertin "Cuvée Madeleine Collignon" and the Clos de la Roche "Cuvée Georges Kriter" . In some cases, auction prices of up to 40,000 euros were achieved for a Pièce , a wooden keg with approx. 228 liters, which equates to a single bottle price of over 250 euros.