The Bicêtre Hospital is located in

Le Kremlin-Bicêtre Le Kremlin-Bicêtre () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is from the center of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe. Le Kremlin-Bicêtre is most famous as the location of the Bicêtre H ...

, a commune in the southern suburbs of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It lies 4.5 km (2.8 miles) from the center of Paris. The Bicêtre Hospital was originally planned as a

military hospital A military hospital is a hospital owned and operated by a military. They are often reserved for the use of military personnel and their dependents, but in some countries are made available to civilians as well. They may or may not be located on a ...

, with construction begun in 1634. With the help of

Vincent de Paul Vincent de Paul, CM (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660), commonly known as Saint Vincent de Paul, was a Occitan French Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving the poor. In 1622 Vincent was appointed a chaplain to the galleys. Afte ...

, it was finally opened as an

orphanage An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...

in 1642. It was incorporated into the ''

Hôpital Général de Paris The General Hospital of Paris (french: Hôpital général de Paris) was an Ancien Régime institution intended as a place of confinement of the poor. Formed by a royal edict during the reign of Louis XIV, it aimed to address the recurring problem of ...

'' in 1656. In 1823, it was called the ''Hospice de la Vieillesse Hommes''. In 1885, it was renamed the ''Hospice de Bicêtre''.

History

In its history it has been used successively and simultaneously as an orphanage, a

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

, a

lunatic asylum The lunatic asylum (or insane asylum) was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. The fall of the lunatic asylum and its eventual replacement by modern psychiatric hospitals explains the rise of organized, institutional psychiatry ...

, and a hospital. Its most notorious guest was the

Marquis de Sade Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade (; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814), was a French nobleman, revolutionary politician, philosopher and writer famous for his literary depictions of a libertine sexuality as well as numerous accusat ...

. In 1781 the prison was referred to as “much more terrible than the

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was sto ...

”. The ''Bicêtre'' is most famous as the ''Asylum de Bicêtre'' where Superintendent

Philippe Pinel Philippe Pinel (; 20 April 1745 – 25 October 1826) was a French physician, precursor of psychiatry and incidentally a zoologist. He was instrumental in the development of a more humane psychological approach to the custody and care of ps ...

is credited as being the first to introduce humane methods into the treatment of the mentally ill, in 1793. The ''Bicêtre'' is referenced in the last chapter of Foucault's ''Madness and Civilization'' titled "The Birth of the Asylum." In it, Pinel's methods are classified as more devious than humane.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bicetre Hospital 1642 establishments in France Buildings and structures completed in 1642 Hospital buildings completed in the 17th century Hospitals in Val-de-Marne Hospitals established in the 17th century Former psychiatric hospitals

History

See also

References

External links