Hôtel-Dieu

The Hôtel-Dieu of Dole

The Dole audio-guided tour has you walk along the Tanners' canal and the imposing Hôtel-Dieu, a former hospital establishment endowed with a fine Franc-Comtois Renaissance architecture. It is one of the great monuments of the city.

A hospital for the most deprived

Built in the seventeenth century, the Hôtel-Dieu was enlarged several times over the centuries. On the first floor were welcomed the poorest patients, who could not be cared for at home; on the second floor were the rooms of the sisters who cared for them, and the ground floor housed the services of the establishment. This vast building testifies to the tradition of welcome and care of the most deprived, in an architectural setting of great dignity.

What there is to see

The Hôtel-Dieu impresses with its breadth and its Franc-Comtois Renaissance architecture, along the Tanners' canal. Reconverted today to new cultural uses, it can be discovered both by its façade and by its inner courtyards. It is a major testimony of the social and hospital history of Dole.

Practical information

The Hôtel-Dieu is along the Tanners' canal, in the historic centre of Dole. Its façade and its courtyards can be contemplated from the outside; its spaces, now devoted to cultural uses, can be visited according to their own programme and hours, liable to vary according to the season.

When was the Hôtel-Dieu of Dole built?

In the seventeenth century, in the Franc-Comtois Renaissance style; it was enlarged several times afterwards.

What was the function of the Hôtel-Dieu?

It was a hospital establishment that welcomed and cared for the poorest patients, supervised by sisters.