Hospice Comtesse

You are now walking up the Rue de la Monnaie, which is the oldest street in town. In the 11th century, it was the main cobbled street linking the two gates of the city. It took its present name with the arrival of Louis XIV, who had the Mint built here. It is lined with typical 17th and 18th century brick houses and is home to a number of important institutions, including the Hospice Comtesse, whose entrance you can see in front of you. As may you know, this old hospital was built by Jeanne de Flandre. Born in 1199, she was the eldest daughter of the Count of Flanders and Hainaut. Considered a very pious woman, she founded a number of convents, leprosaria and abbeys, including the Cistercian abbey of Marquette, which was considered one of the largest in France at the time. In 1962, the building was transformed into a city council museum of ethnography and folklore, which is well worth a visit. On the ground floor, you can experience the daily life of the Augustinian nuns by entering the intimacy of a Flemish house as it existed in the 17th and 18th centuries. You will be able to appreciate the refinement of Flemish art, the beauty of the earthenware in the kitchen, the wooden ceilings and tapestries, as well as the spiritual atmosphere of the chapel and the former apothecary. The upper floor, is dedicated to exhibitions, presenting collections of applied arts that trace the lillois’s life style from the Old Regime to the French Revolution. The majestic ward room hosts contemporary art exhibitions for an appreciable temporal contrast.”