Hospital zum Heiligen Geist

Hospital St. Georg

Two Hamburg institutions (self-characterized as “Hospitals”) founded in the early 13th century funded themselves from the acquisition of land and the earning of income on it. They were as follows:

 

• Hospital zum Heiligen Geist, which combined the features of a hostel for healthy people, nursing home, and poorhouse. (It is now strictly a nursing home.) The Hospital was located within the Hamburg city walls, but its income earning lands were further to the north. For the simplified name, I use the name of the village nearest the Hospital—Hohenfelde.
• Hospital St. Georg, which initially served leprosy patients but gradually converted into a poorhouse. (It closed in 1951). The Hospital was located in what is now the St. Georg section of Hamburg, but its income-earning land was also to the north. For the simplified name, I use the name of the first village it acquired—Berne.

 

The territory owned by the two Hospitals was part of the Imperial City of Hamburg throughout the period covered by the database.