Hôtel Dieu

The Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques on your left is the city’s most important landmark! It traces its history back to 1130, when the Daurade Priory established a hospital foundation on the outskirts of Saint-Cyprien, on the left bank, affiliated to the monastery by the now-defunct Daurade bridge. In 1225, a new hospital, Hôpital Novel, was built opposite the first one. Its management was entrusted to the Confrérie de Saint-Jacques, to facilitate the reception of pilgrims. Charity was the byword in the Middle Ages. The very first hospitals were founded, and they were free of charge and open to all Catholics. It was not until 1554, when the Daurade bridge was no longer in use due to the construction of the Pont Neuf, that the two hospices were linked and the premises took on the name Hôtel-Dieu. At the time, the ‘Hôtel-Dieu’ were foundations run by bishops, generally found along pilgrimage routes. This particular one was an important stopover on the Way of St James pilgrimage trail. In fact, you can still spot the enormous scallop shell in the garden today, a symbol used to guide pilgrims along the route. It is also important to know that, in 1682, Louis the 14th banned vagrancy and thus, perhaps unwittingly, pilgrimage too! In a nutshell, the Hôtel-Dieu was run by and for Catholics until the Revolution, when it became known as the patriotic Hospice de l’Humanité, which translates to “Hospice of Humanity”. However, once all the nuns had left, the hospital descended into total chaos. Medical schools were abolished in the name of freedom of practice, and quacks had a field day. Despite being ideologically in line with the society of the time, the new team woefully lacked experience and organization. Faced with the magnitude of the task, the State eventually entrusted the management of the premises to the municipality, and did not take over again until 1940! By 1801, the Society of Medicine, Surgery and Pharmacy of Toulouse was established in an attempt to restore order. It was also around this time that grades were introduced for the practice of medicine. The schools then awarded two diplomas: that of doctors, which are the doctors we know today, and that of health officers, whose status was abolished in 1892. All this to say that, in the 19th and 20th centuries, the Hôtel Dieu hired doctors, organized itself, sorted its patients by disease, expanded considerably and served as a war hospital, until 1987, when its last patient left the premises. Today, the building houses the administrative center of the Toulouse University Hospital, the European Institute of Telemedicine and the Museum of the History of Medicine. The museum is a real gem! It offers a glimpse into 7 centuries of scientific progress, with numerous medications and instruments on display. It’s fascinating! If this is your kind of thing, be sure to stop by during your stay.