Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau

Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau stands in Barcelona as a modernisme hospital complex among gardens and tree-lined paths. Lluís Domènech i Montaner designed its colourful pavilions with mosaics, sculptures, stained glass, and carefully oriented sunlight. Twelve main pavilions connect through underground galleries, forming a planned medical city within the city. The gardens contain medicinal herbs, horse chestnuts, lime trees, and orange trees.

Its institutional history began in 1401, when six medieval hospitals merged to serve Barcelona. Overcrowding prompted the new site, funded by banker Pau Gil and built between 1902 and 1930. Domènech i Montaner planned 48 buildings, although builders completed 27. Most departments moved to a nearby hospital in 2009, while historic buildings gained cultural and organisational uses. Restoration covered almost 30,000 square metres indoors and over 31,000 outdoors.

Since 2014, the restored complex has welcomed visitors as a museum and cultural centre with workspaces and an archive. The Blood and Tissue Bank and radiography department still operate within it. UNESCO listed it with Barcelona’s Palau de la Música Catalana as a World Heritage Site in 1997. The entrance building resembles a chapel beneath its large dome, with marble columns and mosaic-covered ceilings.