Hôtel-Dieu de Paris

The Hôtel-Dieu (French pronunciation: [otɛl djø]; "God Shelter") is a public hospital located on the Île de la Cité in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, on the parvis of Notre-Dame. Tradition has it that the hospital was founded by Saint Landry in 651 AD, but the first official records date it to 829, making it the oldest in France and possibly the oldest continuously operating hospital in the world. The Hôtel-Dieu was the only hospital in the city until the beginning of the 17th century. The original Hôtel-Dieu stood on the banks of the Seine on the southern side of the Île de la Cité. It was ravaged by fire several times and was rebuilt for the last time at its present location on the north side of the parvis of Notre Dame between 1867 and 1878, as part of Haussmann's renovation of Paris. Currently operated by Assistance publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), the Hôtel-Dieu is a teaching hospital associated with the Paris Cité University.