The royal Frederiks Hospital was

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

's first

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

in the present-day meaning of the word. It was founded by king Frederik V and financed by the earnings from the

Norwegian Postal Service Posten Norge () is the name of the Norwegian postal service. The company, owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications had a monopoly until 2016 on distribution of letters weighing less than 50g throughout the country. There a ...

. The buildings, situated in Bredgade in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

and currently housing the

Danish Museum of Art & Design The Designmuseum Denmark () is a museum in Copenhagen for Danish and international design and crafts. It features works of famous Danish designers like Arne Jacobsen, Jacob Jensen and Kaare Klint, who was one of the two architects who remodeled ...

, were, along with the rest of

Frederiksstaden Frederiksstaden is a district in Copenhagen, Denmark. Constructed during the reign of Frederick V of Denmark, Frederick V in the second half of the 18th century, it is considered to be one of the most important rococo complexes in Europe and was in ...

, designed by

Nicolai Eigtved Nicolai Eigtved, also known as Niels Eigtved (4 June 1701 – 7 June 1754) was a Danish architect. He introduced and was the leading proponent of the French rococo or late baroque style in Danish architecture during the 1730s–1740s. He design ...

and

Lauritz de Thurah Laurids Lauridsen de Thurah, known as Lauritz de Thurah (4 March 1706 – 5 September 1759), was a Danish architect and architectural writer. He became the most important Danish architect of the late baroque period. As an architectural writer ...

and built in 1752-1757. It opened on March 31, 1757 on the birthday of Frederick V. The hospital was run as an independent institution with the purpose of giving free care and cure to patients without means. About two thirds of the patients were treated free of charge. It was at one time the seat of the Fødsels- og Pleiestiftelsen.http://www.rigshospitalet.dk/menu/OM+RIGSHOSPITALET/250+aars+historie/Historiske+boeger+i+version/, access 27 May 2008 Until 1848 Frederiks Hospital was managed by the Danish Chancellory, from 1848 to 1871 by the Ministry of Justice and from there on by the Ministry of Church and Education. On November 11, 1855, the philosopher

Søren Kierkegaard Søren Aabye Kierkegaard ( , , ; 5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855) was a Danish theologian, philosopher, poet, social critic, and religious author who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher. He wrote critical texts on ...

died here. The hospital was closed in 1910 with the founding of

Rigshospitalet Rigshospitalet (meaning ''The National'', ''State'' or ''Hospital of the Realm'', but not usually translated) is the largest public and teaching hospital in Copenhagen and the most highly specialised hospital in Denmark. The hospital's main buildi ...

. The building was remodelled in the 1920s to house the Danish Museum of Decorative Art, now the Danish Museum of Art & Design.

Notes

References

* Claudius Rosenhoff
"Kjøbenhavn. Illustreret Veiviser og Beskrivelse over Byen og Omegnen", p. 104-
1857. Hospital buildings completed in the 18th century Buildings and structures completed in 1757 Hospitals in Denmark Defunct hospitals in Copenhagen 1757 establishments in Europe Hospitals established in the 1750s Rococo architecture in Denmark 18th-century establishments in Denmark 18th century in Copenhagen

Directors

* (1810-1821) Rasmus Hansen Lange {{Lauritz de Thurah