Old St. John's Hospital

Old St. John's Hospital
St. John's Hospital in 1778
Map
Geography
Coordinates51°12′14″N 3°13′26″E / 51.204°N 3.224°E / 51.204; 3.224
History
Openedmid-12th century
Closed1977

The Hospital of St. John (Oud Sint-Janshospitaal) was a medieval hospital in Bruges. It was founded in the mid-12th century.

Located next to the Church of Our Lady, the premises contain some of Europe's oldest surviving hospital buildings.[1] The hospital grew during the Middle Ages and was a place where sick pilgrims and travellers were cared for. The site was later expanded with the building of a monastery and convent. In the 19th century, further construction led to a hospital with eight wards around a central building.

Not until 1977 did the building's function as a hospital stop, at which time it was moved to a newer modern hospital in Brugge Sint-Pieters. The city of Bruges took over the buildings. Today part of the hospital complex holds the popular Hans Memling museum, named for the German-born Early Netherlandish painter, where a number of works, such as triptychs are displayed,[2] as well as hospital records, medical instruments and other works of art.[3]

The hospital site is also used as a congress and exhibition centre, the site Oud Sint-Jan.

On 13 April 2020, the square in the hospital was named after Eleonora Verbeke, a nun at the hospital in the eighteenth century.[4]

References

  1. ^ "Sint-Janshospitaal". Archived from the original on 2013-01-25. Retrieved 2012-11-29.
  2. ^ Patrick Barkham (2008-05-03). "Land of the friet". The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-11-29.
  3. ^ "Too Much Belgian Beer? Go to the Memling Hospital Museum in Bruges". 2010-04-01. Archived from the original on 2012-06-29. Retrieved 2012-11-29.
  4. ^ Eleonora Verbeke, hét voorbeeld van ‘Meer vrouw op straat’ in Brugge: “Haar boek is een voorloper van elk kookboek”, Het Laatste Nieuws, 2020-04-13


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