Sant Pau: 600 years of health
Sant Pau is the oldest hospital in Barcelona and one of the oldest in Europe and, probably, the world. A Modernist Jewel, a historical site and a working public hospital, this is the ultimate visitor's guide to Sant Pau.
The old Hospital
Early in 1401, six health centres were merged into one new hospital, the Hospital de la Santa Creu. It occupied the space of what we now know as the Biblioteca de Catalunya.
The institution's income came from charitable donations, gifts, and bequests from private individuals, as well as the ‘privilege of the comedies’, which granted the hospital the exclusive right to stage theatrical performances in Barcelona. Discovering Sant Pau should begin in Raval and then through a short metro ride, heading on to the neighbourhood of Sagrada Família.
Find your home in Barcelona
The institution's income came from charitable donations, gifts, and bequests from private individuals, as well as the ‘privilege of the comedies’, which granted the hospital the exclusive right to stage theatrical performances in Barcelona. Discovering Sant Pau should begin in Raval and then through a short metro ride, heading on to the neighbourhood of Sagrada Família.
Enter Josep Domènech i Muntaner
The Cerdà Plan and the death of a wealthy Catalan banker who willed his estate to build a new hospital in Barcelona made what we know as the Hospital de Sant Pau today possible. The project was entrusted to Lluís Domènech i Montaner, one of the outstanding architects that thrived during Modernisme in Barcelona.
Inspired by the most modern hospitals in Europe and embracing the latest thinking on sanitation and hygiene, he designed a hospital organised as a series of separate pavilions, each for a different speciality, surrounded by gardens and interconnected by a network of underground tunnels.
If you are planning a visit to Sant Pau in Barcelona, know that it is linked to the Sagrada Família through Avinguda Gaudí. The legend says the little cherubic faces adorning the Cathedral were sculpted from the death masks of the babies who died at the hospital —a morbid piece of information dedicated to Gaudí’s fans.
Inspired by the most modern hospitals in Europe and embracing the latest thinking on sanitation and hygiene, he designed a hospital organised as a series of separate pavilions, each for a different speciality, surrounded by gardens and interconnected by a network of underground tunnels.
If you are planning a visit to Sant Pau in Barcelona, know that it is linked to the Sagrada Família through Avinguda Gaudí. The legend says the little cherubic faces adorning the Cathedral were sculpted from the death masks of the babies who died at the hospital —a morbid piece of information dedicated to Gaudí’s fans.
The very model of a Modern Hospital
Over the years, in addition to being the city’s hospital of reference, Sant Pau has become a prominent landmark within the cultural heritage of Barcelona and Catalonia and was recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997.
In the autumn of 2009, Sant Pau’s healthcare activities and teaching hospital were transferred to a modern building in the northern section of the grounds. The Modernista complex is open to the public, and you may acquire tickets on their website.
Visiting Sant Pau is part of getting to know the city as a local and an unmissable experience!
Find your room in Barcelona
In the autumn of 2009, Sant Pau’s healthcare activities and teaching hospital were transferred to a modern building in the northern section of the grounds. The Modernista complex is open to the public, and you may acquire tickets on their website.
Visiting Sant Pau is part of getting to know the city as a local and an unmissable experience!
Sant Pau is the oldest hospital in Barcelona and one of the oldest in Europe and, probably, the world. A Modernist Jewel, a historical site and a working public hospital, this is the ultimate visitor's guide to Sant Pau.
The old Hospital
Early in 1401, six health centres were merged into one new hospital, the Hospital de la Santa Creu. It occupied the space of what we now know as the Biblioteca de Catalunya.
The institution's income came from charitable donations, gifts, and bequests from private individuals, as well as the ‘privilege of the comedies’, which granted the hospital the exclusive right to stage theatrical performances in Barcelona. Discovering Sant Pau should begin in Raval and then through a short metro ride, heading on to the neighbourhood of Sagrada Família.
Find your home in Barcelona
The institution's income came from charitable donations, gifts, and bequests from private individuals, as well as the ‘privilege of the comedies’, which granted the hospital the exclusive right to stage theatrical performances in Barcelona. Discovering Sant Pau should begin in Raval and then through a short metro ride, heading on to the neighbourhood of Sagrada Família.
Enter Josep Domènech i Muntaner
The Cerdà Plan and the death of a wealthy Catalan banker who willed his estate to build a new hospital in Barcelona made what we know as the Hospital de Sant Pau today possible. The project was entrusted to Lluís Domènech i Montaner, one of the outstanding architects that thrived during Modernisme in Barcelona.
Inspired by the most modern hospitals in Europe and embracing the latest thinking on sanitation and hygiene, he designed a hospital organised as a series of separate pavilions, each for a different speciality, surrounded by gardens and interconnected by a network of underground tunnels.
If you are planning a visit to Sant Pau in Barcelona, know that it is linked to the Sagrada Família through Avinguda Gaudí. The legend says the little cherubic faces adorning the Cathedral were sculpted from the death masks of the babies who died at the hospital —a morbid piece of information dedicated to Gaudí’s fans.
Inspired by the most modern hospitals in Europe and embracing the latest thinking on sanitation and hygiene, he designed a hospital organised as a series of separate pavilions, each for a different speciality, surrounded by gardens and interconnected by a network of underground tunnels.
If you are planning a visit to Sant Pau in Barcelona, know that it is linked to the Sagrada Família through Avinguda Gaudí. The legend says the little cherubic faces adorning the Cathedral were sculpted from the death masks of the babies who died at the hospital —a morbid piece of information dedicated to Gaudí’s fans.
The very model of a Modern Hospital
Over the years, in addition to being the city’s hospital of reference, Sant Pau has become a prominent landmark within the cultural heritage of Barcelona and Catalonia and was recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997.
In the autumn of 2009, Sant Pau’s healthcare activities and teaching hospital were transferred to a modern building in the northern section of the grounds. The Modernista complex is open to the public, and you may acquire tickets on their website.
Visiting Sant Pau is part of getting to know the city as a local and an unmissable experience!
Find your room in Barcelona
In the autumn of 2009, Sant Pau’s healthcare activities and teaching hospital were transferred to a modern building in the northern section of the grounds. The Modernista complex is open to the public, and you may acquire tickets on their website.
Visiting Sant Pau is part of getting to know the city as a local and an unmissable experience!
