Musée de l'Hospice Comtesse, Medieval museum in Old Town, Lille, France

The Musée de l'Hospice Comtesse occupies the former Hospice Comtesse, a medieval hospital founded in 1237. Its red-brick facade rises above a dark stone entrance framed by alternating blocks, with a pointed gable containing two round windows and a carved stone panel. Inside, rooms from different periods surround two courtyards and a medicinal garden, and the collection includes paintings, furniture, tapestries, and ceramics from the Lille region.

The building was founded in 1237 by Countess Jeanne de Flanders as a hospital and operated as one for over 700 years. It was converted into a museum in 1962 and opened to visitors.

The museum keeps the name Hospice Comtesse, given in 1245 in recognition of its founder, Countess Jeanne de Flandre. Its collections of some 70,000 works cover Lille's history and decorative arts, shown in the building of the Augustinian sisters who ran the hospital until 1793. Temporary exhibitions, including contemporary art, are held alongside the permanent rooms.

The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 AM to 6 PM and on Monday afternoons. It sits in the old town and is easy to reach on foot, with the chance to explore different rooms arranged around courtyards.

The museum displays a fully reconstructed living area of the Augustinian sisters with original furnishings, dormitory, and a traditional Flemish kitchen with historic tiles. These rooms give you a close look at how the sisters lived day to day.