L’hôtel-Dieu de Château-Thierry

Abstract

The Hôtel-Dieu of Château-Thierry was founded in 1304 by a queen of France, and converted into a museum between 1982 and 2002. It is an interesting example of how a heritage sensibility can be developed around the notion of healing, and how this sensibility can be shared. Originally run by Augustine nursing sisters, the Hôtel-Dieu became a place of lay medicine after the Revolution. The Augustine sisters remained present however, although relegated to a rôle of assistants in medical practices which they did not recognise. Over the years, they accumulated a remarkable heritage and when the last of them died in 1966 she made sure that this heritage was handed on to the hospital. It was only in 1970 that this treasure was discovered. But before interpreting this treasure in situ, it was necessary to wait for the departure of the medical services, in 1982. From 1988, the works were inventorised, restored and exhibited in spaces that preserved the seventeenth and eighteenth-century atmosphere. This initiative was financed by the local departmental authorities of the Aisne department, by numerous benefactors and, from 1992, by an association. More recently, since 2010, it is with the support of the local authorities (communauté des communes) that the last pieces of work have been undertaken in order to open the site to visitors. The buildings, covering more than 1,500 square metres, were given historic monument protection (inscrits) in 2007 and today exhibit more than 1,400 objects, of which a dozen are also protected as monuments. The museum is a unique example of its kind in France, and has recently been in the news since the hospital centre, owner of the collection, has announced its intention to sell it, in order to compensate its growing deficit.

Keywords

• heritage
• history
• hospital
• medicine
• seventeenth century
• heritage interpretation