Casa Cuna de Fraisoro, Foundling hospital in Zizurkil, Spain
Casa Cuna de Fraisoro is an orphanage and maternity facility in Zizurkil, designed by architect Ramón Cortázar to care for abandoned infants and support single mothers. The building provided shelter for pregnant women from their seventh month onward and housed children until they reached five years old.
The facility was established in 1903 by the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa and operated until 1994. Over this period it provided essential care to thousands of children and mothers who had no other options.
The building reflects how religious communities shaped social welfare in early 20th-century Spain. You can sense the role that sisters and wet nurses played in the daily care and support offered within these walls.
The building sits in a quiet part of town and is straightforward to find. Since it functioned as a social institution for many decades, visitors should check beforehand whether access is permitted or if tours are available.
In 1906, this facility became the first in Spain to apply the Wassermann test for syphilis detection in newborns. This forward-thinking medical approach set it apart as a place where scientific advances were put into practice early.
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