Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Pons Pilgrim Hospital, also known as a nine-hospice, is a former medieval hospice located in the lowland town of Pons, Charente-Maritime. Founded in 1160 by Geoffroy III of Pons, it was intended to welcome pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela, as well as the poor and abandoned children. Its location outside the city walls allowed permanent access, day and night, unlike the former St. Nicholas Hospital, located in the high city and inaccessible after the doors closed.

The architectural ensemble initially included a hall of the sick, a prioral church dedicated to Notre-Dame, and a Romanesque porch over the Saintes-Bordeaux road. Managed by priors, then by religious of the order of St John of Jerusalem in the sixteenth century, the hospital was damaged during the wars of Religion. In the 18th century, Charles-Eugène de Lorraine, Prince of Lambesc, ordered modernization works, including the construction of a chapel and the layout of the sick room.

Ranked a historic monument in 1879 for its porch, the hospital was partially listed or classified over the 20th century for its houses, church and crypt. After a period of abandonment in the 19th century, it enjoyed a major restoration between 1998 and 2004, following its UNESCO World Heritage Registration in 1998. Today, it hosts cultural events and visits, testifying to its historic role in welcoming pilgrims and the poor.

Among the remarkable elements, the Romanesque porch, decorated with graffiti evoking the legend of St James, gives access to the hall of the sick, covered with a 13th century structure. The vestiges of the Prioral Church, including the 38-metre-long dropural walls, recall the past importance of the site. A medieval crypt, ancient mass grave, and houses of the 18th and 19th centuries complete this ensemble, marked by successive reuses as schools or houses.

The hospital illustrates the evolution of hospital and charitable practices from the Middle Ages to the modern era. Its classification by UNESCO underlines its role in the roads of Compostela, while its transformations reflect the changing needs of the local population, between assistance to pilgrims, care for the sick and reception of abandoned people.

Future

The Hospital of Pilgrims is one of the 71 monuments as well as 7 portions of paths have been inscribed since 1998 on the UNESCO World Heritage List under the official title of "Chemins de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle in France".

It is on the way to Via Turonensis or "Voyage de Tours" which starts from the Saint-Jacques Tower in Paris.

External links