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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Hôtel-Dieu de Château-Thierry was founded in 1304 by Jeanne de Navarre, wife of Philip IV the Bel, to welcome the sick and the poor. Initially modest with only 10 beds, it expanded significantly in 1698 when Louis XIV rattacha 28 regional maladries. The municipalities concerned gave their property in exchange for rights to proportional days of care. At the end of the 17th century, under the impetus of Madame de la Bretonnière and her benefactors Pierre Stoppa and Anne Charlotte de Gondi, the establishment adopted the rule of Saint Augustin. Their mausoleum still remains in the chapel.

In the 19th century, facing the old buildings, a new hospital was built between 1876 and 1879 by architect Eugène Rouyer, according to the hygienist principles of the time. The sick were temporarily transferred to Charity during the work. In 1890, the medieval walls surrounding the hospital were demolished, with the exception of the Augustine Tower, serving as a tomb for nuns. The establishment closed permanently in 1988, replaced by a modern hospital on the outskirts. Ranked a Historic Monument in 2007, it now houses the Hotel-Dieu Treasure Museum, opened in 2010, which exhibits 1,300 works related to its hospital history.

The site preserves medieval remains, including 14th century vaulted cellars and a massive foothill, integrated into the later masonries. The southern façade, decorated with benefactor coats of arms, illustrates the patronage that marked the establishment. Disused since the 1980s, the Hôtel-Dieu is one of the 18 emblematic sites of the 2018 Lotto du Patrimoine, requiring urgent restoration work. A project aims to make it a national museum on hospital history, staged with collections from other closed God-hotels.

The Treasure of the Hôtel-Dieu, saved after the death of the last Augustine nun in 1966, brings together works of art (paintings, ceramics, goldware) and liturgical objects bearing witness to the richness of the institution. The guided tours, organized by the association Arts et Histoire de Château-Thierry, make it possible to discover this unique heritage, classified for part Historic Monument. The establishment symbolizes both the evolution of medical practices and the generosity of patrons throughout the centuries.

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