Ancien hôpital de Colmar, Historical hospital from 1736 in Colmar, France.
The Ancien hôpital de Colmar is a three-storey Louis XV building on place du 2-Février, erected 1736–1744 by the Lorraine architect Luppe Danclo. Its 25 window axes are set over a rusticated ashlar ground floor, a main storey and an attic storey. Since 2011 it houses the Pôle Média-Culture Edmond-Gerrer, the municipal media library.
A Franciscan convent originally stood here; after the friars left it became a hospital in 1543, but a fire destroyed it in 1735. The 18th-century monarchy then built a new hospital on the same site between 1736 and 1744, using stones from the fortifications dismantled in 1673. The architect was the Lorrainer Luppe Danclo.
The Louis XV architectural style on the facades shows how French rule shaped public buildings in 18th-century Alsace. The proportions and details reflect the tastes of that period.
The building is now a public space since it functions as the city's media library and is accessible during its opening hours. It sits conveniently in Colmar's town center, not far from other historical sites in the area.
Before the French Revolution, the hospital kept breeding animals for residents, an unusual role for a medical facility. This practice was part of the supply function these institutions served at that time.
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