Hospital of the Holy Cross and Saint Paul
The Hospital de la Santa Cruz and San Pablo (in Catalan Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau) is located in a group of buildings located in Barcelona (Spain), designed by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, one of the main representatives of Catalan modernism. It was built between 1902 and 1930 in two phases: the first by Domènech himself, between 1902 and 1913, consists of thirteen modernist buildings; the second, carried out by his son Pere Domènech i Roura from 1920, consists of another six buildings of moderate modernism and other later buildings. With its main building and its numerous pavilions, the Hospital de San Pablo is, along with the Pere Mata Institute in Reus (also by the same architect), one of the largest ensembles of Catalan modernist architecture. Although it was not possible to build the entire original project, its notoriety was recognized with various awards and the appointment as a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1997. It is also an Asset of Cultural Interest with the number RI-51 -0000419
History
The Hospital was founded in 1401, by the merger ("reduction") of six hospitals that existed in Barcelona at that time and that, as a result of the plague of 1348 and the subsequent demographic crisis, entered into a deep economic crisis. The name of the new institution was Hospital de la Santa Cruz. The MIA (Most Illustrious Administration) was made up of two canons from the Cathedral of Barcelona and two members of the Council of One Hundred (governing body of the city of Barcelona). The management was in charge of a Prior, who was always a priest (in Valencia it was called clavario and in Zaragoza Mayordomo). Until 1904, it was the main healthcare institution in the Principality of Catalonia and, along with the Gracia de Zaragoza and General de Valencia hospitals, the three key pieces of the social action mechanism of the Crown of Aragon. Located in the Raval of Barcelona (currently the building is the headquarters of the Library of Catalonia) the urban growth of the city during the XVIII surrounded him. If until 1714 the hegemony in the MIA was held by the civil arm, during the Bourbon period, there was an evident disaffection of the councilors in favor of a growing power of the religious arm of the Junta that led to perceiving what was a civil hospital as a religious hospital. This fact motivated the role of doctors to be subordinate. The changes in medical training during the 19th century led many doctors to make very sharp criticisms regarding the operation of the Hospital, and its subordination to religious interests. For this reason, municipal inspections such as the one in 1847 and numerous articles in the press question the institution's care policy, and for this reason the doctors fought for the medical school and the university hospital to be transferred to another institution (the Clinic).
Since the beginning of the XIX century, there have been frequent complaints about the age of the building and the impossibility of guaranteeing its expansion in a context of growing urbanization and demand for care, as well as sharp criticism of the management model of the institution, defended by the MIA as a private charity, in such a way that Barcelona did not have a publicly managed hospital until the appearance of the Clinic. The application of the Charity Law of 1849 and the Regulation of 1852, and above all the confiscation of a good part of its rural and urban patrimony through the laws of Madoz, called into question the autonomy of the Hospital from the public powers and the need to adapt to the law. In order to maintain its independence, the Administration urged its conversion into a private charitable hospital, a statute that it maintained until the agreements between the MIA and the Provisional Generalitat in 1978, which led to its entry into the Administration of the Generalitat of Catalonia and the appointment for this of the President. Since then, the hospital has acted as a service provider for the Catalan Health Institute within the framework of the Public Utility Hospital Network.
Pau Gil's Legacy
The construction of a new building at the beginning of the XX century could be financed by a donation made by the banker Pau Gil to build a hospital that was to be managed by the Barcelona City Council or another similar institution. Its construction began in 1902 and took place over 18 years, during which the works were paralyzed due to lack of resources and continuous conflicts derived from the management model practiced by the Administration. The complex was finished in 1930. To get closer to the will of the patron, his name Pau (Pablo) was added to that of the hospital, which from then on was officially called Hospital de la Santa Cruz and San Pablo, although today it is more popularly known as Hospital de San Pablo.
Structure
The complex was projected to occupy an area of 9 blocks in the Distrito del Ensanche, in a square of 300 by 300 meters. It consists of a main building dedicated to administration, and 27 pavilions in which medical and nursing tasks are carried out. All the buildings are linked by underground galleries, suitable for the transfer of patients. The technical installations are outdoors, to facilitate their maintenance.
Among all the buildings, the main one stands out, for the administration, which is accessed by a wide staircase. On both sides are the library and secretariat rooms. In a separate space is the church, which is impressive. However, the pavilions are also of great interest, especially since each of them is different from the others.
The architect Domènech had several artists collaborate with him on the project. The main ones were Pablo Gargallo and Eusebio Arnau, who made the numerous sculptures in the complex, Francesc Labarta, who designed the paintings and mosaics, and Josep Perpinyà, who took charge of the wrought iron elements.
Over time, the need for expansion has once again become evident, both due to the number of patients, as well as technological advances in medicine and the growing teaching activity, since the hospital today has character academic. During the second half of the last century, some new buildings were added to the complex, the most important of which is the Institute of Urology (Fundació Puigvert), a private hospital dedicated entirely to this speciality.
The hospital was conceived to have all the services within it and thus isolate it from the city. In the design, streets, gardens, buildings with water supply, a church and even a convent were projected.
The main entrance is oriented forty-five degrees with respect to the Ensanche looking towards the Sagrada Familia. It is believed that the reason for this orientation is that Domènech i Montaner wanted to take advantage of the wind coming from the sea to ventilate the hospital and safeguard it from diseases. It is also believed that Montaner oriented the entrance in this way to break with the grid structure of the Ensanche district, which he did not like.
The access pavilion is made of exposed brick like most of the complex. Domènech i Montaner uses different architectural styles in a masterful and very orderly way, as we can see in this main pavilion where we find Gothic, Neo-Gothic, Byzantine elements and Germanic architectural styles such as the clock tower. There are two figures indicating the start and end dates of this main building (1905 the start date represented by the Greek letter alpha and the completion date 1910 represented by the letter omega). On the main façade there are four sculptures of a young Pablo Gargallo that represent the three theological virtues (faith, hope and charity) plus a fourth, the work, since Domènech i Montaner thought that man should demonstrate these three virtues through his actions or works.
Inside the main pavilion there is a structure of arches and columns that represents a garden of medicinal plants, since in the past these types of plants were cultivated in hospitals to create their own medicines. St Paul's Hospital was also intended to have a medicinal garden behind the main entrance although it was not ultimately built.
Another important feature is that the hospital was designed to differentiate between male and female patients. On the right side are the pavilions for men who have names of saints, and on the left are the pavilions for women with names of saints or virgins. In fact, at the main entrance there was a door in the right wing for men and a door in the left wing for women.
One more curiosity that reflects the architect's concern for harmony and symmetry is that the pavilions near the main entrance are the smallest and grow as we enter the hospital, forming a pleasant perspective in sight. Likewise, the pavilions that are at the same height are the same, and the only difference is that one is dedicated to a saint and the other to a saint or virgin depending on whether it was a pavilion for men or women (men on the right and women on the left).
New hospital
At the start of the XXI century, the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau began an important process that culminated in which is today its third location since its birth more than 600 years ago. The new Hospital began to be built in the year 2000 in the northern part of the Sant Pau site, at the corner of Mas Casanovas and Sant Quintí streets, to respond to new health needs. This building is made up of a main block that basically houses the outpatient activity (36,022 m²) from which four hospitalization blocks (46,878 m²) unfold like fingers.
The Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau inaugurated its new headquarters in 2009, a health complex located in the northeast corner of the modernist complex and separated from it. The transfer of the hospital activity made it possible to begin the process of rehabilitation of the modernist pavilions, to provide them with other uses linked to a new project. The Hospital is currently made up of five almost independent bodies that come together in a large lobby that redistributes circulation and connects the entire hospital complex.
In its care function, multiple activities stand out, some of them considered benchmarks in their field of action. Every year more than 35,000 admitted patients and more than 145,000 emergencies are treated. Outpatient clinics receive some 350,000 visits each year and more than 75,000 users are treated at the Day Hospital. It has 136 Day Hospital points, 644 beds and 21 operating rooms.
The Board of Trustees of the Fundació de Gestió Sanitària de l'Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau is the highest governing body of the Hospital and is made up equally of the Barcelona City Council, the Cathedral Chapter and the Generalitat of Catalonia. Today the Hospital is integrated into the Hospital Network for Public Use of Catalonia.
The Fundación Privada Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau is the institution in charge of managing and ensuring the maintenance and conservation of the monumental and artistic complex of its modernist enclosure, and carries out its charitable-assistance activity.
Helipad
On the roof of block E of the new hospital there is a landing strip for medicalized helicopters that was inaugurated on July 15, 2010 and is equipped with the necessary security systems, complying with international regulations. It has equipment for operations with day and night visibility conditions. From the heliport, there is direct access to the ICU, emergency room or operating rooms by elevator, without the need for another land vehicle (as was the case with the previous heliport). The runway is optimal both for EMS helicopters and for devices that carry out medical operations in Spain and Europe, being able to support devices weighing up to 5,500 kg.
The old helipad is located on the corner of Mas Casanovas and Cartagena streets, and today it is in disuse.
Awards
- In 1997 the Unesco declared the Hospital of Saint Paul World Heritage.
- In 2001 he received the Gold Medal of the Generality of Catalonia.
Images
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Genealogy
Virgilio Leret
Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts