The story of this place
Founded in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin, chancellor of Burgundy, and his wife Guigone de Salins as a hospital for the poor, the Hôtel-Dieu of Beaune is a Gothic jewel crowned by a spectacular roof of glazed polychrome tiles in geometric patterns. Inside, the Grande Salle des Pôvres lined its sick beds beneath a painted vaulted ceiling, and the hospital treated patients for free for over 500 years, until 1971. To fund its charity, the Hospices were endowed with vineyards, and every November since 1859 their wines are sold at a famous charity auction that still supports the modern hospital—one of the world's oldest continuous acts of philanthropy through viticulture.