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Former Bicêtre Hospice dans le Val-de-Marne

Val-de-Marne

Former Bicêtre Hospice

    9 Rue du Pressoir
    94440 au Kremlin-Bicêtre
Ancien hospice de Bicêtre
Ancien hospice de Bicêtre
Ancien hospice de Bicêtre
Ancien hospice de Bicêtre
Ancien hospice de Bicêtre
Ancien hospice de Bicêtre
Ancien hospice de Bicêtre
Ancien hospice de Bicêtre
Ancien hospice de Bicêtre
Ancien hospice de Bicêtre
Ancien hospice de Bicêtre
Ancien hospice de Bicêtre
Crédit photo : Eugène Atget (1857–1927) Autres noms Nom de naissa - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
1634
Foundation by Louis XIII
1656
Conversion into hospice
1668
Construction of the North Gate
1713
*The Force*
1731
First lodges for alienated
1823
19th century alienated districts
1847-1858
Expansion of the main building
8 mars 1962
Historical monument classification
1981
Opening of the new hospital
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Facades and roofs of the two pavilions of Le Mercier incorporated on the north front of the large building; porterie north of 1168 (Porte Saint-Jean-Baptiste); façades and roofs of the east gate of 1757 (door of the Champs), vaulted passage, wooden vantals; all the so-called Le Grand Puits buildings comprising: building of the former carousel (currently chapel), well building and well itself, building of the large reservoir; façades and roofs of the only remaining corner pavilion of the 17th century, bordering the Rue Séverine (Box 1941 I 15): classification by decree of 8 March 1962 - Façades and roofs of large buildings comprising: building forming the north front where are incorporated the two classified pavilions of Le Mercier, the two wings in return to the south bordering the courtyard Saint-Jean (with the exception of the south end of the east wing in its lesser thickness) , building of the cabanons in return of square of the west wing bordering the courtyard Saint-Léger to the south ; remains of the basement dungeons of the cabanon building and the west wing; facades and roofs of the former Force; facades and roofs of the former presbytery and sacristy; facades and roofs of the buildings of the former lingerie and the primitive well; facades and roofs of the alien divisions of the 19th century comprising: west of the former Force, two parallel buildings to colonnades, south of the former Force and west of the Grand Puits, a fronton building (north-south) and its lateral annexes to the west, eastward, the two parallel annexes to colonnades; all the floors included in the layout of the former enclosure (cad. 1941 I 15): inscription by decree of 8 March 1962 - Façades and roofs of the old kitchens, excluding the veranda, 78 avenue du Général-Leclerc (cad. 1941 I 90): inscription by decree of 13 November 1985

Key figures

Louis XIII - King of France Founded the establishment in 1634.
Lintlaer - Architect (recent assignment) Designed the first buildings, not Lemercier.
Louis Le Vau - Architect Has worked on the north gate (1668).
Germain Boffrand - Owner Creusa the Great Well (1733).
Charles François Viel - Architect Prolonged the Cabanons in 1787.
André Bourdon - Modern architect Designs the current CHU (1970s).

Origin and history

The former Bicêtre hospice came into being in 1634, when Louis XIII founded an establishment for invalid soldiers on the ruins of a castle. Transformed into a hospice in 1656 under the Hôpital général de Paris, it also became a state prison and then an asylum for alienated persons in the 18th century. The original buildings, wrongly attributed to architect Lemercier (actually designed by Lintlaer), include 17th century pavilions still visible today.

In 1668 the north gate was erected, followed by the chapel (destroyed in 1927) and prison buildings such as the Force (1713). Germain Boffrand added in 1731 boxes for alienation and dug the Great Well, a symbol of water improvements. In the 19th century, the hospice extended with alienated quarters (1823) and a major expansion of the main building between 1847 and 1858, reflecting the evolution of medical and prison practices.

The protections for historical monuments (classifications of 1962 and 1985) cover key elements such as the pavilions of Le Mercier, the porters, the Grand Puits, and the alienated divisions. The site, partially demolished in the 1970s to modernize the current hospital (CHU Bicêtre), preserves architectural traces of the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, testifying to its many vocations: military, charitable, prison and medical.

The doorway is 1757, designed to connect the hospice to the Fontainebleau road, illustrates the adaptation of the site to its environment. Traditional materials (limestone, cut stone) and slate or tile roofs characterize buildings prior to 1880. The district of idiotic children (1886-1889), made of brick, marked a late specialization in care, before the construction of the new hospital in 1981 on former vegetable gardens.

The notable architects include Le Vau (chapelle, porterie nord), Boffrand (tank, well), and Viel (extension of the Cabanons in 1787). Baltard's project to expand the prison (1827) and the destruction of the circular district of the Sûreté (circa 1970) underline the tensions between preservation and modernization. Today, the Bicêtre Hospital, integrated with the AP-HP, continues a medical vocation on this site full of history.

The legal protections distinguish the classified elements (such as the Grand Puits or the pavilions of Le Mercier) from the registered parts (façades of the large buildings, remains of the dungeons). These measures preserve a complex heritage, where the strata of public assistance, psychiatry and hospital architecture are superimposed, from the Ancien Régime to the contemporary era.

External links