Gasthuismuseum

The Gasthuismuseum takes up the places of the old hospital (Gasthuisstraat 1), erected in the thirteenth century not far from the Saint Dymphna’s Church. The hospital procured treatments for the local inhabitants and for people who arrived in Geel from other places. The hospital was built in 1268 in the place where, according to the legend, Dymphna was killed; it was then reformed during the sixteenth century and, from 1552, was entrusted with the medical management of Augustinian nuns.
Between 1458 and 1483, an infirmary was built in addition to the hospital to host pilgrims and sick people, located in the perimeter of the church1.
After the French invasion (1797) the hospital became state ownership and the religious community lost management of health care, which passed to secular administrative authorities. The church was again in operation in 18012.
In 1971 the order of Augustinian nuns reacquired the places of the old hospital turning them into a museum3.

These pictures represent the exterior of the Gasthuismuseum.

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The statue outside the museum.

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Some pictures of the museum's historical finds (reliquary, statues representing beheading of Saint Dymphna, triptych) and rooms (pharmacy, medical room).

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  • Page layout and text by Jessica Casaccia moc.liamg|acissejaiccasac#| (December 2020)

Related items:

“Ziekenzorg in het Geelse gasthuis”


Bibliography

  • Bersani F. S., Riboni J., Prevete E., Borghi L. 2020. "Geel e santa Dinfna, una secolare tradizione di assistenza psichiatrica". Giornale di storia (ISSN 2036-4938), 32, pp. 1-19. https://www.giornaledistoria.net/saggi/articoli/santa-dinfna-psichiatrica/
  • Carstairs G. M. 1958. "The Patron Saint of the Insane", Mental Health, 17, pp. 133-136.
  • Dresvina J. 2013. Hagiography and idealism: St. Dympna of Geel, an uncanny saint, in "Anchoritism in the Middle Ages: texts and contexts" (edited by C. Innes-Parker and N.K. Yoshikawa), University of Wales Press.
  • Forthomme B. 2004. Sainte Dympna et l'inceste, Paris, L'Harmattan.
  • Haneca K., Buyle M. 2018. The reliquary of saint Dymphna: dating wood and bones, in "Relics @ the Lab: An Analytical Approach to the Study of Relics" (edited by M. Van Strydonck, J. Reyniers, and F. Van Cleven), Peeters.
  • Rumbaut R.D. 1976. "Saints and psychiatry", Journal of Religion and Health, 15, pp. 54-61.
  • Van Ravensteyn F. 2005. History of the museum, Geel, Gasthuismuseum.
  • Villa R. 2008. "Incesti irlandesi e apoteosi brabantine", Belfagor, 63, 2.


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