Val-de-Grâce

Val-de-Grâce
The (or ) was a military hospital located at in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was closed as a hospital in 2016.
History
The church of the was built by order of Queen Anne of Austria, wife of Louis XIII. After the birth of her son Louis XIV, Anne (previously childless after 23 years of marriage) showed her gratitude to the Virgin Mary by building a church on the land of a Benedictine convent. Louis XIV himself is said to have laid the cornerstone for the in a ceremony that took place April 1, 1645, when he was seven years old.
The church of the Val-de-Grâce, designed by and , is considered by some as Paris's best example of baroque architecture (curving lines, elaborate ornamentation, and harmony of different elements). Construction began in 1645, and was completed in 1667.
The Benedictine nuns provided medical care for injured revolutionaries during the French Revolution, and thus the church at was spared much of the desecration and vandalism that plagued other, more famous Paris churches (for example, was looted and turned into a warehouse, and was used as a barn). As a result, the church's exquisite interior is one of the few unspoiled remnants of Paris's pre-Revolution grandeur. Following the Revolution, the buildings were converted into a military hospital.
Currently, the original buildings only serve for offices and teaching facilities; the actual medical facilities are inside a large modern building to the east on the same grounds.
The present-day hospital was built in the 1970s and completed in 1979. It has a capacity of 350 beds, in various specialties. The hospital is accessible to military personnel in need of medical aid as well as to any person with health coverage under the French social security system. It is famous for being the place where the top officials of the French Republic generally get treated for ailment.
The statue standing in the courtyard is that of (as sculpted by in 1843), who was Napoleon's personal surgeon and innovator of the concept of battlefield triage.
The old abbey alongside the church is now a museum of French army medicine. Tours of the museum and church are available for a small fee (being a military facility, the grounds are under military guard and tourists are escorted). Cameras are not permitted except for inside the church itself.
The last emperor of Vietnam died at hospital on 30 July 1997, aged 83.
People buried at Val-de-Grâce
was later the traditional burial place for members of the House of Orléans, cadet of the House of Bourbon:
(1693–94), daughter of Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
Louis, Duke of Orléans (1703–52)
Margravine Auguste of Baden-Baden, (1704–26)
, Mademoiselle (1726–28), daughter of the above who died in childbirth giving birth to Louise Marie
(1725–85), son of Louis
(1726–59), wife of the above
Impact on the arts
During World War I, and , surrealist artists, were enlisted as physicians-in-training at the hospital. As a part of the French government's efforts to keep morale up during the war, a museum of reconstructive surgery was built in the hospital. The exhibits consisted of wax sculptures of deformed human faces and the results of reconstructive surgery. A look at the museum reveals that there is almost no doubt that the exhibits influenced the two artists and eventually the surrealist movement, which frequently deals with themes of dismemberment and disfigurement. The hospital was featured in the motion picture "Lucy" starring Scarlett Johansson. (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2872732/locations)
Gallery
See also
French Defence Health service
List of hospitals in France
References
External links
Photos of the church interior
Buildings and structures in the 5th arrondissement of Paris
Christian monasteries in Paris
Hospital buildings completed in the 17th century
Hospital buildings completed in 1979
Hospitals in Paris
Military hospitals in France
Hospitals established in 1796
Defunct hospitals in France