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Origin and history

Lahospice Comtesse, also known as Hospice Notre-Dame, is a former Lille hospital founded in 1237 by Jeanne de Constantinople, Countess of Flanders. Located in his palace, he welcomed poor, pilgrims and travellers. A fire in 1468 destroyed the early building, resulting in its partial reconstruction between 1468 and 1482 (room of the sick and ground floor of the convent building). He then adopted the rule of St Augustine and was endowed with mills and seigneurial rights by his founder.

A second fire in 1649 ravaged the chapel and buildings, requiring a major reconstruction: the floor of the convent (1649–52), a new chapel decorated according to the precepts of the Council of Trent (1652–57), and a facade on the rue de la Monnaie by Julien Destrée. The site remained a hospital until the Revolution, before becoming a hospice for old people and an orphanage (the Bleuets) after 1918. Disused in 1939, it was transformed into a museum in 1962, classified as a historical monument in 1923 and 1991.

The architecture combines Flemish and classical styles: a court of honour accessible by a vaulted 15th century passage, brick and stone facades (XVIIe), and a room of the sick inspired by the Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune. The chapel, adorned with paintings by Arnould de Vuelz (1653–1703) and 66 benefactors' badges (1853), also houses religious sculptures. An adjacent mill, called St Peter's, preserves medieval remains.

The present museum, dedicated to the art and history of Lille from the 17th to 18th centuries, reconstructs the atmosphere of the institution through its tiled cuisine, its priory apartments, and its pharmacy. The patient room hosts temporary exhibitions, while the dormitory presents contemporary works. An educational garden, recreated in the 1980s, cultivates 13th century medicinal plants.

Property of the city of Lille, the hospice illustrates the evolution of care and charity in Flanders, from its medieval foundation to its modern museum vocation. The buildings, classified twice, bear witness to the successive reconstructions and the adaptation of their use over the centuries.

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