650-2015… et plus : l'Histoire de l'Hôtel-Dieu de Paris

Hôtel-Dieu is a term that first appeared in print in the 13th century to designate charitable institutions founded and run by bishops. Built next to the cathedral, the Hôtel-Dieu was to provide accommodations for the poor, the old, the orphaned, and the sick. It was through these charitable institutions that the Church fulfilled its mission of benevolence, striving more to save souls than care for bodies. Progressively, the missions of some institutions evolved, focusing more on caring for the sick. It was in these institutions that doctors and surgeons practiced their arts. According to tradition, the Paris Hôtel-Dieu was founded in 660 by Saint Landry, who was the 28th bishop of Paris, during the reign of Clovis II son of Dagobert. The original building was transformed over the centuries, rearranged, destroyed and reconstructed as events marked the history of the French capital. The building that houses the Hôtel-Dieu today was built in the 19th century. In the 20th century, progress in medicine and surgery enabled the hospital to develop three missions: provide care and cure for patients; teach and train doctors and allied medical professions; develop medical research. The 21st century opens a new era for this hospital that has been serving the Paris population for more than a thousand years. Hôtel-Dieu has become a center of excellence in certain domains of medicine and surgery. The ophthalmology unit inaugurated in the 19th century has an ambitious project for this new century.