The Sainte Anne farm (Paris), origins of the psychiatric hospital

Abstract

The psychiatric hospital of Sainte Anne, located in the south of Paris (France) has just turned 150 years since its inauguration in 1867. The purpose of this article is to have a look at the history of the hospital’s origins until its definitive foundation. Founded in 1645 as a contagious’s hospital, it hosted a cow farm for many years. In 1833, Dr. Guillaume-Marie-André Ferrus selected a group of psychiatric patients to work on the farm, being the precursor of occupational therapy in France. His reports influenced the drafting of the alienated law of 1838 and the organization of future alienated asylums. The insufficiency of places showed the need to build a new asylum, choosing the land of the farm for its location. Baron Haussmann ordered the construction of the asylum to the architect Charles-Auguste Questel, being inaugurated on January, the 1st of 1867 and receiving the first patient on May, the 1st of the same year.

Keywords

• Psiquiatría
• Hortiterapia
• Granja
• Sainte Anne
• Ferrus
• Reinserción
• Historia de la enfermería