A calling.
The habitual daily routine has never concerned them. They preferred the Nation, or their ambitions, to a life spent stagnating in the same house. They chose to join up and sail off to fight.
At least against the winds and the tides.
Wishing to lighten the burden of those who had done their duty by it, the homeland has offered very high quality healthcare facilities since the seventeenth century.
Soldiers and sailors returned from exotic expeditions, as well as the artisans building the ships, were treated at the maritime hospital of Rochefort, with patient care that was described as second to none at the time.
Not only were the staff efficient, but the patients' convalescence was brightened as everything was planned to ease their days of pain.
The architectural aesthetic, in a bungalow style, let in the sunlight. For the well-being of the patients. For those who no longer had any hope of recovery, the buildings included a parish church and two chapels. The fact that this establishment was home to the first school of military medicine in Europe, and the oldest school of naval medicine in the world, bears out its importance.
Just like the patients, the future doctors were well looked after: accommodation was provided, but they could also study in a library stocking ten thousands of works, and a vast lecture hall.
The hospice has been modernised over the years since 1788, but without losing its original beauty. Yet the hospital, no longer meeting modern hygiene standards, closed in 1983.
The building, with its solid foundations, found a purchaser who divided it into apartments. Unlisted, part of the complex has still to be taken over.
Let's hope that a good buyer will come to the rescue before it is too late...*
* Text and photos taken from the book "Forbidden Places: Exploring our abandoned heritage"
is this place still neglected or has it been renovated? Rad pictures
It's a shame that some of these buildings are left to rot. Sure some of them have a sad past, but places like this hospital would be great as a hotel etc. A lot of work, craftmanship, went into these buildings.
I love all your pictures! Many of them are sooo scary and creepy, nevertheless they are so beautiful, perfectly photographed. The only word that fits is AMAZING! Well done. Keep going! Adoring greets from Germany
I would love to come to France and see the elegance of the old buildings for myself.This hospital is a great example;the bends in the staircases are just fabulous and the spiral one is to die for.It is nice to see somewhere that has not been trashed and left to time with dignity.I imagine that the sun on all that old glass is amazing too,especially the crystals on the lights.I imagine too what it must have been / is like lit only by candlelight at night.The atmosphere must be very strange there.Although you say that most of the buildings have been turned into apartments,I get this feeling of unkemptness in the grounds - there are no signs of habitation in your pictures.Maybe you didn't want to show that side or maybe the apartments aren't taken.Perhaps the inhabitants occupy another dimension altogether,of laughing children and dogs playing...
These Photos are just amazing. So well composed, I believe they should be artfully displayed In the restored buildings. Well done!
1998-2018 (c) - www.Forbidden-Places.net - Contact
[fr] 
[es]
