Modernist Hospital de Sant Pau. Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau. Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau (English translation is Hospital of the Holy Cross and Saint Paul.) The Sant Pau hospital is Barcelona's biggest modernist structure occupying several blocks of the upper Eixample area of Barcelona situated at the opposite end of the Gaudi Avenue from the Sagrada Familia church. It consists of a modern and old part. The modern part is still a working hospital. The old part is the Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau which is a magnificent modernist (art nouveau) structure recently restored and open to the public.

Tours of the Hospital Sant Pau modernist hospital start at the main Administration Pavilion and include visits to the network of underground tunnels connecting pavilions and to the gardens where visitors can admire the fascinating domes, roofs, façades, sculptures and stained glass windows of the Hospital Sant Pau buildings. Before or after the visit you can enjoy a meal at the new Modernist restaurant by the main facade called 1902 Cafè Modernista

It's tempting to assume that Gaudi was the architect of the modernist Sant Pau hospital, because it is located at the opposite end of the Avenida Gaudi from the Sagrada Familia temple by Gaudi, but the Sant Pau hospital was designed by another famous modernist Catalan architect, called Lluís Domènech i Montaner.

The Hospital Sant Pau has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the Palau de la Musica by the same architect. The Sant Pau hospital was built from 1901 to 1930 and is the largest single modernist work in Barcelona.

The history of the 'Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau' dates back to 1401, when six hospitals in the old medieval city of Barcelona merged to form the Hospital de la Santa Creu in the Raval area of Barcelona's old city.

The former Sant Pau hospital in the Raval area is now a cultural centre called Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau. It is no longer a medical facility, but hosts the Escola Massana art school and Catalonia National Library Biblioteca de Catalunya.

With the growth of Barcelona in the late middle ages and advances in medicine in the 19th century, the ancient Sant Pau hospital was unable to meet demand. Construction of a new hospital began in the extension area of Barcelona called Eixample.  

Among the many patients the famous '1984' novel writer George Orwell. He was shot in the neck on the frontline on 16th February 1937 while fighting on the Aragon front in the Spanish Civil war on the Republican side and ended up in Hospital Sant Pau on June 1st 1937. Read more about history of Hospital Sant Pau.

Part of the Hospital Sant Pau is still a functioning hospital. but new buildings have been added and the oldest modernist buildings have been converted into museums and for cultural centres and other cultural institutions including Casa Asia.

The Sant Pau Art Nouveau visitors programme is part of Barcelona's Ruta del Modernisme.

Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site opening times + guided visits
Opening times and tours

Ticket prices

Tickets: €17  

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