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Origin and history

Laennec hospital, located at 40 rue de Sèvres in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, has its origins in 1634. On that date, Cardinal François de La Rochefoucauld, the great chaplain of France, began the construction of a hospice dedicated to the poor with incurable ills, named hospice des Incurables. The royal letters patent obtained in 1637 formalized its operation, with privileges and ecclesiastical authorizations. The architect Christophe Gamard directs the works, which extend until the eighteenth century, giving birth to a cross-shaped architectural ensemble, centered on a chapel.

In 1873, the Incurable Hospital was transferred to Ivry for female patients, and the Parisian institution became a general hospital. He was renamed Hospital Laennec in 1878 in tribute to René Laennec, inventor of the stethoscope. The chapel, built under Louis XIII, had a special reputation between 1945 and 1971 as a place of Tridentine Mass celebrated by Bishop Ducaud-Bourget. The site also houses the burials of Cardinal La Rochefoucauld and the Turgot brothers, as well as a pulpit attributed to Bossuet and a painting by Philippe de Champaigne.

The architecture of the hospital illustrates the Louis XIII style, marked by the use of contrasting materials (stone, brick, slate) and a rigorous symmetry. The chapel, classified as a historical monument in 1977, is distinguished by its sobriety: immaculate nave, discreet stained glass windows, and a space organized for the faithful and ecclesiastical. Its dimensions (25.30 m wide, 32.20 m long) and its height of 14.52 m make it an imposing building despite its simplicity.

Closed in 2000, the hospital is sold in 2002 to COGEDIM for a mixed real estate program, Paris 7 Rive Gauche, completed in 2014. The 3.8-hectare site, including 2 hectares of gardens, now hosts the Kering Group headquarters, housing, shops and a student residence. The chapel, although protected, remains without clear assignment. However, an error in demolition in 2011 resulted in the destruction of his sacristy, despite his ranking.

The building retains remarkable elements such as the eight ancient stairs of the 17th and 18th centuries, the classified facades and roofs, or the Egyptian fountain of the courtyard. During Heritage Days, Kering exhibits contemporary art works from the Pinault collection. The site also appears in the cinema, in Jean Eustache's La Maman et la Fère (1973), where a character is a nurse in Laennec.

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