Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Sainte-Reine Hospital was founded in 1659 in Alise-Sainte-Reine to welcome sick and exhausted pilgrims attracted by the miraculous source of Saint Queen. Supported by Saint Vincent de Paul, the bishop of Autun and the Society of the Blessed Sacrament, it was built thanks to Parisian and Burgundy donors, including Anne d'Alençon and three bourgeois. The letters patent were signed by Louis XIV on 23 March 1659, and the works, entrusted to the mason Jean Lestre, began in June. The initial H-shaped plan, with a circular apse chapel, was only partially realized: only the right wing, the chapel and two sick rooms (Saint Anne for women, Saint John for men) were built between 1659 and 1663.

The chapel, blessed in 1663 with a vaulted choir, was completed between 1695 and 1697 by the mason Jean Oudet, who added arches to the nave and transept. The hospital initially housed lay caregivers, replaced in 1666 by five sisters of the Daughters of Charity congregation. In 1664, a building called hospital Saint-Louis was built for pilgrims suffering from skin diseases, treated by baths in the waters of Sainte-Reine. Women were treated on the ground floor, men on the floor. In 1683-1684, a house was built for the hospital sisters, who had been poorly housed until then, while outbuildings and a water supply system (Dartreux Foundation, authorized by Louis XIV in 1686) were built.

In the 18th century, the hospital evolved to meet new needs: in 1706, a room for sick women was added near that of men; In 1716 an outside staircase replaced the inside of the women's room. In 1765, the hospital house was enlarged, and the apothecary, initially mobile, was installed in the former dormitory of the sisters, with woodwork in 1768. Between 1770 and 1771 the hospital set up lodges for the madmen and bad subjects in the hospital Saint-Louis, before closing them in 1777. In 1775, a second bath building, reserved for an easy clientele, was built near the washhouse. The last women's hall, built in 1784-1785, communicated with the 17th century. Together, partially demolished in the 1970s, today retains its classified chapel, pharmacy and protected ancient facades.

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