The Biblioteca de Catalunya hosts the exhibition 'Care, Innovate, Advance. 625 years of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau' in the gothic building of the former hospital, in Barcelona's Raval neighbourhood. Curated by Reis Fontanals, the show charts the history of this healthcare institution through its medical and professional advances. Since its founding in 1401, the hospital has been central to healthcare and medical training in Catalunya, adapting to the challenges of each era. Pioneering milestones include the first use of anaesthesia in Spain, the creation of the first X-ray unit, and the first bone marrow and heart transplants. The exhibition highlights how the medicine practiced and developed at the center reached standards comparable to those of Europe's leading medical institutions. Entry is free.
The Planns tip
Explore the Sala de la Caritat, where the exhibition is housed, to appreciate the building's original gothic architecture.
PRACTICAL INFO
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday: 11.00 h to 15.00 h · Free Admission — Sala de la Caritat Saturday: 10.00 h to 14.00 h
THE VENUE
In the heart of Raval, the Old Hospital de la Santa Creu Building stands as a landmark of Catalan civil Gothic architecture. Founded in 1401 to centralize Barcelona's healthcare, this complex operated for over five centuries, witnessing the city's urban and medical evolution, and where Antoni Gaudí spent his last days in 1926. Today, its halls and courtyards host the Biblioteca de Catalunya, the Institut d'Estudis Catalans, and the Reial Acadèmia de Medicina, complete with its remarkable 18th-century anatomical amphitheater. A historic vestige reimagined as a cultural epicenter.
Edifici de l'Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu
Raval's Civil Gothic: from hospital to National Library.
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