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Origin and history

The former hospital of Hautefort, founded in 1669 by the Marquis Jacques-François d'Hautefort, is a religious building designed in the shape of a Greek cross. Its unique architecture includes a central church surmounted by a 35-metre dome, around which four wings are organized dedicated to the sick. The nave, oriented to the west, served as a place of worship, while the other three branches housed rooms for 33 patients by age and sex. Patients could follow the services from their rooms through open fences.

The act of foundation, signed on February 4, 1669, states that the hospital should accommodate 33 poor people in homage to the 33 years of Christ's earthly life. Each wing had a specific vocation: the west wing for eleven elders (dedicated to the Eternal Father), the right wing for eleven young boys (room of the Divine Word), and the left wing for eleven women (room of the Holy Spirit). A sixth director and an ecclesiastical were responsible for spiritual and material management, under the supervision of the bishop of Périgueux to avoid malfeasance.

The works, entrusted to the Parisian architect Jacques Maigret, began in 1670 under the direction of master Estienne Nollet. The building, classified as a historic monument in 1931, combines a rotunda chapel and vaulted rooms communicating with the sanctuary. Today, it houses the Museum of Medicine, testifying to its hospitable and architectural heritage. Intermediate pavilions facilitated traffic between wings and provided ancillary services.

The hospital was financed by allocations provided for in the foundation act, ensuring its sustainable operation. His cross plan, inspired by the religious symbolism, reflects the will of the Marquis of Highfort to perpetuate his gratitude to God. Daily Masses, catechism and religious instruction were given there, emphasizing its dual function as care and as a place of devotion.

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