Monday, July 11, 2011

Hotel-Dieu

The Beaune charity hospital, the Hotel-Dieu, was founded in 1443, and operated continuously for centuries. Now it is simply a great museum of life in late Medieval times and of charity and human kindness.
The exterior is not particularly impressive; but the interior
courtyard, with its weathervanes and tiled roof is most
impressive; the Hotel-Dieu must be in the Guiness Book
for most weathervanes on a single building...

















The main ward















Detail















Gorgeous ceiling















Surgical--ouch!--instruments















More ditto; or possibly for lubicating your transaxle















Intensive care; aka, rich person's ward















In the kitchen, a spit-timer















Part of the Hotel-Dieu's historic endowment was several
hundred acres of prime (i.e., grand cru) vineyards; Hospices
de Beaune is one of the greatest of wines; and the annual
Hospices de Beaune auction is still the largest of all wine 
auctions


















In the hospital's pharmacy















Producing whatever's good for whatever ails
you




















The Hospices' artistic masterpiece, Roger van der Weyden's
15th century Last Judgment polyptych















Funny Beaune

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