SPAIN ~The Hospital de Sant Pau - UNESCO ~

... More beauty from postcard friends ♥... the world's largest Art Nouveau Site... an architectural masterpiece... a must-see group of hospital buildings... with great matching UNESCO stamp... Thanks a lot Josep and Assumpta!! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The Hospital de Sant Pau was built to replace the old and too small Hospital de la Santa Creu at the end of 19th century. (1905-1930)

The famous Catalan architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner designed this new hospital for the city  and he thought about creating a sort of garden city that would also cheer up patients. The innovative hospital was inaugurated in 1930 and the result was a magnificent complex of whimsical pavilions adorned with colorful turrets and covered with beautiful mosaics, stained glass and marble sculptures.

The hospital was closed in 2009 and after refurbishment opened to the public in 2014.Today it hosts headquarters of international organizations such as Casa Àsia and the United Nations University Institute on Globalization, Culture and Mobility.

It was awarded World Heritage status by UNESCO in 1997.

Photo: © Pere Vivas

Stamps:
Rural Architecture
(Issued 29-10-2015)

UNESCO World Heritage
(Issued 30-11-2001)

King Juan Carlos I
(Issued 02-01-2002)