The Hôtel-Dieu d'Hautefort dates from the 17th century and today houses the Hautefort Museum of the History of Medicine and also the tourist office. In Old French, Hôtel-Dieu meant “the hotel of God”, that is to say the hospitable house where one is received in the name and under the auspices of God. Hotels Dieu are hospitals of ancient foundation, which received orphans, destitute and pilgrims and which were administered by the Church.
During your visit, you will be able to discover 7 rooms dedicated to different themes:
The room of the eternal father: Originally the hotel god was designed to accommodate 11 women, 11 men and 11 children, the number 33 symbolizing the age of Christ.
The room of the eternal father is a reconstruction of a room as it must have been at that time to accommodate eleven men.
Also in this room, a reproduction of an abandonment tower: also called a “baby box”, this is a place where mothers could anonymously leave their babies, generally newborns, so that they are found and cared for there.
The room of the divine word: Here is an exhibition of liturgical vestments.
The Hippocrates room: This room is dedicated to pharmacy and biology equipment for the manufacture of medicines
The Plato room: You will find four dental offices from different eras on display there from 1910 to 1970. from the first use of electricity to the office with x-ray and laser.
The Aristotle room: This room is dedicated to the history of radiography and to gynecology and obstetrics.
The Galien room: Pneumology, surgery and cardiology are exhibited in this Galien room.
The chapel
A Simples garden allows you to discover all these plants that are so useful to your health. A visit is possible with Madame LOUIS Geneviève, herbalist, whose store is close