| Old St. John's Hospital | |
| Coordinates: | 51.204°N 3.224°W |
| Opened: | mid-12th century |
| Closed: | 1977 |
The Hospital of St. John (Oud Sint-Janshospitaal) was a medieval hospital in Bruges. It was founded in the mid-12th century.
Located next to the Church of Our Lady, the premises contain some of Europe's oldest surviving hospital buildings.[1] The hospital grew during the Middle Ages and was a place where sick pilgrims and travellers were cared for. The site was later expanded with the building of a monastery and convent. In the 19th century, further construction led to a hospital with eight wards around a central building.
Not until 1977 did the building's function as a hospital stop, at which time it was moved to a newer modern hospital in Brugge Sint-Pieters. The city of Bruges took over the buildings. Today part of the hospital complex holds the popular Hans Memling museum, named for the German-born Early Netherlandish painter, where a number of works, such as triptychs are displayed,[2] as well as hospital records, medical instruments and other works of art.[3]
The hospital site is also used as a congress and exhibition centre, the site Oud Sint-Jan.
On 13 April 2020, the square in the hospital was named after Eleonora Verbeke, a nun at the hospital in the eighteenth century.[4]