In brief, it was built as a hospital for the poor in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin, chancellor to Phillipe-le-Bon, The Duke of Burgundy. Thoughtfully, it was provided with an income from vineyards and saltworks. The Hospices of Beaune still derive an income from an annual wine auction.

As you look at the building, it is hard to realize that it was used as a general hospital until 1971, after which, it became a geriatric hospital. Having gained entrance to the courtyard, the visitor is struck by the beauty of the tiled roofs. The roofs have been restored and the colours are extremely vivid, but the best is yet to come.

The first room is breathtaking: the Hall of the Poor. It is a magnificent room, 151 feet long and 52 feet high. The vaulted ceiling resembles a ship's hull and is beautifully decorated. Along each of the long walls are beds, which are joined to each other and separated by wood panels. The richness of the dark wood contrasts with the white and red bed linens and the red hangings, which could be drawn across each bed for privacy. The great hall culminates in a chapel. Every patient in the great hall had a view of the figure of Christ at the end of the space and could watch the service without leaving bed.

The visitor then passes through a series of rooms. The Sainte-Anne Room, which is not accessible, is followed by the Saint-Hughes Room, which has been somewhat restored but not back to the original. A museum of the hospital is found in the Salle St-Nicolas, after which one enters the kitchen... restored to the 19th century. Notable here is the huge dual-hearth Gothic fireplace which has been preserved with its original accessories.

After a brief return to the courtyard, one passes into the pharmacy and then to the Salle du Polyptyque. The polyptych was originally in the chapel. It is an extrordinary work of nine panels by Rogier van der Weyden and was commissioned by Rolin in 1443. Its subject is predictable: a central figure of Christ sitting in judgement, welcoming the righteous and dismissing those who have sinned.

The final room is the Salle St-Louis in which are displayed seven splendid 16th century tapestries.

France is filled with dozens of wonderful chateaux, palaces, fortresses, cathedrals, abbeys, and cloisters. This site ranks with the best of them. The Great Hall of the Poor is an extraordinary place. Having done that... did you know that within a couple of hundred feet there are two caves, the Marche aux Vins and the Caves de Cordeliers? Just keep your visits in the right order; Hotel Dieu first.

This was a hospital like no other you have ever seen. It was modern way beyond its time.

It has its own well protected source of clean water, the patients were not expected to share a bed unless there was a great epidemic or some other catastrophe. Each patient had a bed, their own bed linens, their own eating utensils made of pewter and their own chair. The hospital had a cure rate far beyond other hospitals of its time and just the fact that they kept the patients separate can explain why they didn't contaminate each other.

Also the great room of the poor looks into the chapel so the spiritual life of the sick was not neglected either. The room itself is large and airy with a beautiful painted ceiling and painted cross beams. The beds have bright red blankets and the poor must have felt like they had gone to heaven to be able to stay here.

I loved the apothecary. The whole room was filled with wonderful faience jars where herbs were stored. You can read the names, valerian was one I remember. There are wax figures in some of the rooms so that you get an idea of what it would have been like here.

But of course the reason we stopped here was not just to see the hospital but to see the fantastic polyptych The Last Judgement by Rogier van der Weyden. It is kept in a room where the temperature is controlled and there is a guard on duty. And no wonder, this is a marvelous piece of art work. The colors are still bright and fresh and the subject matter can really get you thinking. There is a large magnifying glass that moves over the surface of the piece and you get a very close look at the faces of the damned. makes you not want to be among them I can tell you. It also makes you wonder how he could have ever painted that much small detail over 500 years ago without a magnifying glass.

This is a wonderful place to visit, it was one of our favorite stops. Very interesting. They have a very superior gift shop too and you can't get out without going through it.