Barcelona - Holy Cross Hospital

(Local Name: Hospital de la Santa Creu) In the middle of the Barri Xino, behind the market hall, is the large complex of buildings, grouped around a cloistered courtyard, of the old Hospital de la Santa Creu. It was founded in 1401 and not completed until the 17th C., which explains the varying architectural styles of the individual buildings.

From the Carrer del Hospital the building is entered by a 16th C. pair of doors, on the right-hand side of which stands the chapel. In the middle of the cloister there is a Baroque cross with a curved shaft, behind which is a large arch with a beautiful staircase. In the opposite building is housed a branch of the university library, while in the wings adjoining the Carrer del Carme the Biblioteca de Catalunya is located.

About the turn of the century it became evident that the rooms of the Antic Hospital no longer answered its needs. The architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner was therefore commissioned to build a new up-to-date building in the Eixample district, the Hospital de la Santa Creu i de Sant Pau.