The Val-de-Grâce (; Hôpital d'instruction des armées du Val-de-Grâce or HIA Val-de-Grâce) was a
military hospital
A military hospital is a hospital owned or 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 m ...
located at 74 boulevard de Port-Royal in the
5th arrondissement of Paris
The 5th arrondissement of Paris (''Ve arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of Paris, the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''le cinquième''.
The arrondisseme ...
, France. It was closed as a hospital in 2016.
History
The
church of the Val-de-Grâce was built by order of Queen
Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria (; ; born Ana María Mauricia; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was Queen of France from 1615 to 1643 by marriage to King Louis XIII. She was also Queen of Navarre until the kingdom's annexation into the French crown ...
, wife of
Louis XIII. After the birth of her son
Louis XIV
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
after 23 years of childless marriage, Anne showed her gratitude to the Virgin Mary by building a church on the land of a
Benedictine
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
convent
A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community.
The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
. Louis XIV is said to have laid the cornerstone for the Val-de-Grâce in a ceremony that took place 1 April 1645, when he was seven years old.
The church of the Val-de-Grâce, designed by
François Mansart and
Jacques Lemercier
Jacques Lemercier (; c. 1585 in Pontoise – 13 January 1654 in Paris) was a French architect and engineer, one of the influential trio that included Louis Le Vau and François Mansart who formed the classicizing French Baroque manner, drawin ...
, is considered by some as Paris's best example of
baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the late 16th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means to ...
(curving lines, elaborate ornamentation, and harmony of different elements). Construction began in 1645 and was completed in 1667.
The Benedictine nuns provided medical care for injured revolutionaries during the
French Revolution, and thus the church at Val-de-Grâce was spared much of the
desecration
Desecration is the act of depriving something of its sacred character, or the disrespectful, contemptuous, or destructive treatment of that which is held to be sacred or holy by a group or individual.
Overview
Many consider acts of desecration t ...
and vandalism that plagued other, more famous Paris churches.
Notre-Dame, by contrast, was looted and used as a warehouse, and
Saint-Eustache was used as a barn. As a result, the church's exquisite interior is one of the few unspoiled remnants of Paris's pre-Revolution grandeur. Following the Revolution, the buildings were converted into a military hospital.
The original buildings serve only for offices and teaching facilities (École d'application du Service de santé des armées); the medical facilities are inside a large modern building to the east on the same grounds.
The replacement hospital was built in the 1970s and completed in 1979. It has a capacity of 350 beds, in various specialties. The hospital is accessible to military personnel in need of medical aid as well as to any person with health coverage under the French
social security
Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...
system. It is famous for being the place where the top officials of the
French Republic
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
generally receive treatment.
In the courtyard stands a statue of
Dominique Jean Larrey sculpted by
David d'Angers in 1843, who was
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
's personal surgeon and an innovator in the concept of battlefield
triage
In medicine, triage (, ; ) is a process by which care providers such as Health professional, medical professionals and those with first aid knowledge determine the order of priority for providing treatment to injured individuals and/or inform th ...
.
The old
abbey
An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...
alongside the church is now a museum of French army medicine. Tours of the museum and church are available for a small fee. As a military facility, the grounds are under military guard and tourists are escorted. Cameras are not permitted except for inside the church itself.
The last emperor of
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
,
Bảo Đại, died at the modern Val-de-Grâce hospital on 30 July 1997, aged 83.
People buried at Val-de-Grâce
Val-de-Grâce was later the traditional burial place for members of the
House of Orléans
The 4th House of Orléans (), sometimes called the House of Bourbon-Orléans () to distinguish it, is the fourth holder of a surname previously used by several branches of the House of France, Royal House of France, all descended in the legitimat ...
, a cadet branch of the
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre in the 16th century. A br ...
:
* Mademoiselle de Valois (1693–94), daughter of
Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (Philippe Charles; 2 August 1674 – 2 December 1723), who was known as the Regent, was a French prince, soldier, and statesman who served as Regent of the Kingdom of France from 1715 to 1723. He is referred to i ...
*
Louis, Duke of Orléans (1703–52)
*
Margravine Auguste of Baden-Baden,
duchesse d'Orléans (1704–26)
*
Louise Marie, Mademoiselle (1726–28), daughter of Margravine Auguste who died in childbirth giving birth to Louise Marie
*
Louis Philippe (1725–85), son of Louis
*
Louise Henriette de Bourbon (1726–59), wife of the above
*
Françoise Marie de Bourbon
Françoise Marie de Bourbon (''Légitimée de France''; 4 May 1677 1 February 1749) was the youngest illegitimate daughter of King Louis XIV, Louis XIV of France and his ''maîtresse-en-titre'', Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart, Marquise ...
(1677–1749), only her heart was buried here
Gallery
File:Val de Grace dsc04629.jpg , Modern hospital
File:Ancienne abbaye Val-de-Grace cloitre jardin.jpg , Former abbey of Val-de-Grâce in Paris: view of the cloister
A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...
and its French formal garden
The French formal garden, also called the , is a style of "Landscape architecture, landscape" garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. Its epitome is generally considered to be the Gardens of Versailles designed ...
File:Exterior of Église du Val-de-Grâce 006.jpg , Statue of Dominique Jean Larrey, sculpted by David d'Angers in 1843
See also
*
French Defence Health service
*
List of hospitals in France
References
External links
*
Photos of the church interior
{{DEFAULTSORT:Val-de-Grace
Buildings and structures in the 5th arrondissement of Paris
Christian monasteries in Paris
Hospital buildings completed in the 17th century
Hospital buildings completed in 1979
Hospitals in Paris
Military hospitals in France
Hospitals established in 1796
Defunct hospitals in France
Anne of Austria