The funds came from the legacy of the Catalan banker Pau Gil, who mandated the new construction of a hospital in his will. Therefore the construction works were started in 1902. From then on, the hospital took the name “Hospital de Santa Creu i de Sant Pau” to honor its benefactor.

The Hospital de Santa Creu i de Sant Pau is in the northern part of Barcelona in the district Eixample. The old hospital in El Raval in which Gaudí died in 1926 is nowadays the home of the medical faculty and the Catalan State Library.

With the construction of the hospital form 1902 to 1912, the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner achieved a masterpiece – a special human and in no ways sterile looking building that nevertheless met the highest medical standards. The hospital takes up one whole block, and the almost 30 buildings are situated in a park. The different pavilions have subterranean connections.

When stepping through the main entrance into the area of the Hospital de Santa Creu I Sant Pau, you come into the chapel-like administration building with a large dome roof in the impressive entrance hall. It is not a coincidence that the building resembles a church – it is to symbolize the Christian tradition.

Behind the administration building, you see the pavilion with the surgery rooms. This pavilion is connected to all other pavilions via a tunnel system, so that patients can quickly be transferred to their rooms. The surgery rooms are located below the three glass apses on the northern side of the pavilion.

At the end of the original area the cloister pavilion is located. It was designed by Pere Domènech, the son of Lluis Domènech i Montaner. It consists of three parts, connected via small roofed pedestrian bridges. It contains the service areas of the hospital such as the kitchen, pharmacy and the sleeping quarters of the nuns working as nurses here.

A new construction, situated behind the cloister building, enhanced the old hospital.

You can get to the hospital de Santa Creu i de Sant Pau coming from the Sagrada Familia via the newly designed and embellished Avinguda de Gaudí or from the metro station Hospital de Sant Pau.

In 2001, the hospital de la Sante Creu i Sant Pau celebreated its 600th birthday, and it is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.

Guided tours are offered after prior booking. The park is a beautiful place to rest.