L’Hôtel-Dieu, Hautefort

Founded in 1669 by Marquis Jacques-François de Hautefort (1609-1680), the Hôtel Dieu de Hautefort in Périgord was not completed until 1717. It was a rare hospital foundation with a Greek cross architecture, unique in Nouvelle Aquitaine and in France. The plan was that each of the three rooms would house 11 women (in the room of the Holy Spirit), 11 men (in the room of the Eternal Father) and 11 boys (in the room of the Divine Word), symbolizing the 33 years of the life of Jesus Christ. As early as 1685, the first poor occupied the building, which took half a century to build. In 1747, the brother of the Marquis called the Sisters of Mercy of Nevers, who remained in Hautefort until 1995.

We enter a reconstruction of a sickroom as it must have been for eleven men at that time.

We can see the replica of an abandonment tower, desired by the revolutionaries of the French Revolution in 1793, which took in abandoned children in Hautefort between 1797 and 1847. A total of 1,947 children were counted within 50 years.

The importance of the chapel associated with the strong religious symbolism of this house. In the chancel there is a mausoleum in marble, listed as a historical monument. It contains the body of Charlotte, Countess of Hautefort and the heart of her husband Baron Maxence de Damas.

Another room is dedicated to the history of the pharmacy, it tells the story of the development of drug production and biology teaching. Here are presented extraordinary pieces such as a 19th century trebuchet with a built-in microscope or an electrotherapy case (therapeutic principle of D'ARSONVAL). For experts something really big and for us laymen: amazing and highly interesting.

The library houses a large collection of medical books, some of which are rare: «Memoirs of the Royal Academy of Surgery», «Medical Code of 1818», etc.

I didn't like the «Plato» room at all. But that's because of the topic and my fervent dislike for it: Technology for the dentist. All torture devices from the last century and the first «third set teeth» from the century before last, as well as their manufacturing tools. ... I don't have to like everything.

The «Aristotle» room houses the subject of radiology. The horrified amazement at the conditions under which work was carried out around 1910 can be explained by our present-day knowledge. Highly interesting for visitors with an affinity for technology.

The exhibition is completed by a variety of exhibits of prostheses for the leg or arm.