Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The former hospital of Colmar found its origins in a Franciscan convent transformed into a maladry in 1543, before being destroyed by a fire in 1735. The 18th century monarchy then decided to rebuild the building between 1736 and 1744, reusing the stones of the fortifications dismantled in 1673. Designed by Lorrain architect Luppe Danclo, this new hospital reflected the Louis XV style, with three-tiered facades: a stone-cut ground floor, a square floor and an attic floor, totaling 25 opening axes.

Until the French Revolution, the hospital had an obligation to provide the bourgeois of Colmar with breeding animals, illustrating its role both health and economic. He ceased his hospital duties in 1937, replaced by the Pasteur Hospital, and then partially housed Colmar's UTI until 2005. Between 2009 and 2011, the building was renovated to accommodate the municipal media library Pôle Média-Culture Edmond-Gerrer. Its facades, protected since 1929 (amended in 1946), testify to its heritage importance.

The site, owned by the municipality, today embodies a major cultural place, after having traversed centuries of medical and urban history. Its architecture, marked by the classicism of the eighteenth century, makes it a remarkable example of the Alsatian heritage, between religious heritage (former convent) and public vocation (hospital, then media library).

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