In 1638, in response to the plague epidemics, Bishop Sébastien Zamet set up the Confrérie de la Charité (Brotherhood of Charity) to help the "sick poor". The young institution was entrusted with the management of a hospital set up in several houses already grouped together on this site.
The fire of 1770 led to the design of a new, more functional building. Designed by Nicolas Durand, architect for the Champagne region, the new hospital consisted of two pavilions linked to a central chapel by two wings. The latter housed the wards reserved for patients. The side pavilions were equipped with a room for convalescents, a pharmacy and an operating theatre. The whole combines symmetry and monumentality around a forecourt forming an enclosed garden. The central building in the composition, the rotunda chapel, features a high-quality neo-classical décor. The work of the Langrois sculptor Antoine Besançon, the sculpted decoration underlines the purpose of the premises. Charity welcomes orphans in the pediment of the chapel, while the pillars framing the portal represent Medicine (pulse-taking) and Surgery (cataract operation).
Hôpital de la Charité
