We continue the tour of presenting the medical network available to the Romanian capital. Today we will stop at a unique hospital in the landscape of our country. Its uniqueness is given by its history, a history that spans more than three centuries.
It looks like a palace, but it’s actually a hospital. One of the most spectacular buildings in Bucharest houses a hospital that has 316 years of life behind it. Colțea Hospital is the “oldest” hospital in the city, being operational since December 1704.
The story of the Colțea Clinical Hospital is actually the story of Bucharest in the last centuries.
Spatarul Mihail Cantacuzino is still guarding the hospital
Right in the center of the capital, on I.C. Brătianu Boulevard, at number 1, the building that houses one of the most well-known medical units in the city enchants, through its spectacularity, the eye of the viewer passing through the area.
Spătarul Mihail Cantacuzino, the man who founded this hospital, welcomes you from the height of the pedestal on which the sculptor Karl Storck ascended his statue, in 1869.
Storck made his masterwork from Carrara marble, thus giving maximum value to the “model”. Moreover, the artist has put in his work all the characteristics that he felt for his special character: pride, courage, determination.
And Spătarul Mihail Cantacuzino was even endowed with all these characteristics, considering that he dedicated his life and resources to set up a hospital in Bucharest.
The source of inspiration was “Ospedale di S. Lazzaro e Medicanti”, from Venice, a unit that three centuries ago was one of the most modern medical institutions in the world. And starting from the Italian model, Mihail Cantacuzino wanted Bucharest to have a similar establishment in which the patients receive care.
The inauguration of Colțea Hospital took place on December 14th, 1704, but the construction began in 1695.
The medical unit worked, as it was erected at the orders of the Spătarul Cantacuzino, until 1739, when it fell victim to a devastating fire. But it was not the end of this medical unit.
Realizing the importance of the hospital for the entire region, Constantin Mavrocordat, a gentleman at the time from Wallachia, called for the restoration of the whole ensemble. The medical institution has been completely rebuilt. In addition, new wings were added to the building so that the hospital could have more sections.
You may be wondering why Colțea Hospital does not bear the name of Spătarul Cantacuzino, who is considered the “parent” of this medical unit. The answer is simple: the land that Mihail Cantacuzino used to build the medical unit was given to him by Vornicul Colțea, and in honor of this donation it was decided that the medical unit be called Colțea Hospital.
12 beds for women, 12 for men
Colțea Hospital started with 24 beds: 12 for women and 12 for men. The patients were cared for in one body building, while the men benefited from another body building. The staff was also divided by gender: the female nurses worked in the women’s ward, while the male nurses were assisting the male patients. Those were the times of that era and rules had to be respected.
Even though it had only 24 beds at the beginning, Colțea Hospital was at its foundation one of the most modern medical units in Europe. In fact, it was among the first hospitals built, standing alongside “Charite” in Berlin and “Guy” in London.
Step by step, Colțea Hospital expanded, the number of beds increasing from year to year.
The medical unit has 315 beds today: 78 of them for Internal Medicine, 55 for Hematology, 55 for General Surgery, 30 for Medical Oncology, 34 for Radiotherapy, 48 for ENT and 15 for ICU.
Colțea Clinical Hospital is one of the most modern medical institutions in Bucharest. Even though it has been operating in a building for 300 years, the unit benefits from state-of-the-art equipment and offers patients treatments supported by the latest technologies in the field.
The hospital does not only help the patients in Bucharest, the patients from the province having the possibility to hospitalize here to receive radiotherapy treatments.
Due to its long history, but also due to its outstanding performances, Colțea Hospital is considered the cradle of Romanian medicine. Here, in 1842, Nicolae Kretzulescu founded the first school of microsurgery, being even the first school of Romanian medical education. Also here, Carol Davila founded, between 1877 -1878, the first school of nurses. Also, the name of Colțea Hospital is linked to the establishment of the first closed circuit pharmacy, but also the first radiography made in Romania, one year after the discovery of X-rays.
Author: Ștefania Enache
Photo: Corina Gheorghe
