Old Hospital de la Santa Creu, Barcelona

Old Hospital de la Santa Creu, Barcelona
Entrance to the old hospital
Geography
Location	Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Coordinates	41°24′45″N 2°10′27″E / 41.4124°N 2.1743°E / 41.4124; 2.1743Coordinates: 41°24′45″N 2°10′27″E / 41.4124°N 2.1743°E / 41.4124; 2.1743
History
Founded	1401
Closed	1926
Links
Lists	Hospitals in Spain

The Hospital de Sant Pau i de la Santa Creu is a 15th-century building in Barcelona, which formerly served as a hospital and hospice and currently is the home of the medical faculty and the Catalan State Library. It has been declared a Historic and Artistic Landmark of National Interest.

In 1401 the Council of One Hundred (Concell de Cent), the former government of Barcelona, decided to build the Hospital de la Santa Creu merging and centralizing six hospitals in the city. The complex was designed by Guillem d'Abriell, was planned on a grand scale in the form of four two-story wings surrounding a central patio.

The work was largely complete by 1414, but construction was resumed a century later using more refined construction techniques. During the 16th and early 17th centuries, one of the four wings was demolished, two more wings were added and another court was built adjacent to the first, and this still retains the monumental stairs that now give access to the Biblioteca de Catalunya.

In 1703, Antoni Viladomat, one of the most significant Catalan painters of the Baroque period painted the chapel of Saint Paul.

By the end of the 19th century the hospital had become outdated because of the growth of the city and advances that had been made in medicine and hygiene, so it was moved to a new site at the Hospital de Sant Pau, built between 1902 and 1930.

A month before the hospital was closed down in 1926, Antoni Gaudí died here three days after he was hit by a tram.

In 1926 the building was purchased by the City Council, who began restoring it. It now houses the Biblioteca de Catalunya (since 1939), the Institut d'Estudis Catalans (since 1931), the Escola Massana (since 1935) and two public libraries run by the Diputació de Barcelona. On June 3, 1931 it was declared a Monument of National Historic and Artistic Interest.

In 1978 the UNESCO cataloged the new campus of the Hospital de Sant Pau as a Historic Artistic Monument due to its artistic beauty and construction singularity. In 2001, the hospital de la Sante Creu i Sant Pau celebrated its 600th birthday.

The oldest part of the Hospital de la Santa Creu is an impressive example of Catalan civil-Gothic architecture. The interior boasts several large vaulted halls. Also of note is the cross vaulted Galeria del pati, which borders the inner garden, and the arched entrance to the library at the patio, built in the sixteenth century.