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Origin and history

The Grammont Hospital is a former private hospital built between 1753 and 1771 in Villersexel, Haute-Saône, on the initiative of Ferdinand de Grammont, local lord. Designed by architect Nicolas Nicole, it was designed to welcome the poor in the commune. His status as a private hospital was officially recognized by an imperial decree of Napoleon III in 1863, imposing the free reception of the sick indigent. The building, rectangular with a central forebody, was completed by a chaplaincy, a barn, and a garden. Its original furniture, including a historic pharmacy, is partially preserved.

In 1893, a neo-Gothic chapel, the work of architect Edward Danjoy (author of Villersexel Castle), was backed by the northern vanguard. From 1896, care was provided by the Sisters of Sainte-Marthe de Besançon, with a differentiated fee for indigent patients and others. The hospital was enrolled in the historic monuments in 1998 for its main building and furniture, before being transformed into a retirement home (EHPAD) in 1979, with successive expansions (Miroudot and St Paul's).

The establishment, managed by the Grammont Foundation, now maintains 96 beds, most of which are dedicated to dependent seniors (EHPAD) and specialized Alzheimer units. Despite sometimes criticized modernisations and restorations (such as coatings), Grammont's hospital remains a major architectural testimony of the 18th century in Franche-Comté, associated with the work of Nicolas Nicole, an important figure in Comtoise architecture. Its settlement at the northeast exit of the village, outside the former medieval enclosure disappeared, reflects its historic role as a place of care and reception for local people.

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