Hôtel-Dieu-le-Comte de Troyes

The Hôtel-Dieu de Troyes is now used to house the Musée de l'Apothicairerie and the Cité du Vitrail de Troyes . Part of the building is also used by the University Centre of Troyes , which is part of the University of Reims-Champagne-Ardenne.

The U-shaped building is built between a courtyard and a garden. Two extensions on the west wing house the chapel and the pharmacy . The courtyard is enclosed by a monumental wrought iron gate.

It is known as Hôtel-Dieu-le-Comte or Maison-Dieu-Saint-Étienne.

The Hôtel-Dieu was founded by Count Henry the Liberal of Champagne in the 12th century and was administered by the Augustinian Order with assets including a mill in 1174. It is part of the same foundation as the collegiate church of Saint-Étienne de Troyes and had the same name Domus Dei B. Stephani. It was part of the palace complex of the Counts of Champagne , which included the palace, the collegiate church and the Hôtel-Dieu.

It is the largest of the city's five hôtels-Dieu and one of only two remaining buildings , along with the Saint-Nicolas hospice in Troyes. It had its own assets, including the Trévois mills, the tannery, the oven and the Croncels barn. It has been under the authority of the king since 1284 and had two responsibilities: to receive pilgrims and, if it did not receive lepers, the blind, the one-armed and other cripples, foundlings, because they could not be cured; women after they had given birth until they could be raised. In the 16th century, this service was extended to all population groups and the building remained a medical centre until 1988.

Since 29 June 2013, the restored annex of the Hôtel-Dieu has housed a stained glass conservatory known as the Cité du Vitrail . The Aube department claims the title of "European capital of stained glass" , with a significant heritage of listed stained glass windows, representing nearly 9,000 m2 of stained glass from the 12th to the 21st century5, in nearly 400 churches and monuments. This space closed its doors in December 2018 to allow work to continue on the entire site and open the "grand" Cité du Vitrail at the end of 2022. The new spaces, located in the west wing of the Hôtel-Dieu-le-Comte and its chapel, will offer 3,000 m2 of exhibition space, a documentation centre, a study centre, a bookshop and a conference room.

Willem Vandenameele