Old St. John's Hospital

St. John’s Hospital was one of the oldest operating hospitals in Europe until 1978. Currently, there is a museum of the hospital and the old pharmacy, where you can see ancient medical instruments, vials for medicines, care items for patients. In the same building there is an art museum, which contains unique exhibits, paintings and sculptures, household items of past centuries, furniture, silverware. There are 6 paintings by the famous Flemish artist of the XV century Hans Memling, who lived for a long time in the hospital of St. John and died there.

The ancient hospital of St. John's received the first patients in the early twelfth century. The oldest documents with rules for the hospital date back to 1188. In the Middle Ages, people turned to hospitals to find shelter, food, and spiritual help in times of need or old age.

In the 1970s, a new large hospital was built in Bruges, so after 8 centuries, St. John's Hospital ceased to function and was transformed into a museum and congress center.