Oldest, municipal hospitals in Polish Vilnius until 1939

Hospital care in Vilnius has a long tradition, going back more than 300 years. Some people claim that one of the fi rst care and treatment facilities in Central and Eastern Europe was located in Vilnius. That institution was the local St. Jacob’s hospital, which after more than 90 years of operation, i.e. in 1799, received that name. The same hospital continued operation until the year 2005, when a decision was made to fi nally close it down. By mid 19th century, due to increasing demands in hospital care, as well as increased social needs, many other similar institutions were soon established, among them the “Sawicz” hospital and the Jewish hospital, which continued to operate and grow into the times of the Second Polish Republic. Władysław Zahorski wrote about the origins of the fi rst hospitals in Vilnius already in the interwar period, however his focus was on the early days of local treatment facilities. The article aims to describe the history of the oldest municipal hospitals in Polish Vilnius in the interwar period, up until the year 1939. The foundation of the article is established by using historic archives of the City Hall that are currently located in the Lithuanian Central State Archives (Lietuvos Centrinis Valstybes Archyvas) and in the Special Collection of the General Medical Library, together with old calendars, periodicals, and studies on the subject.

Hospital care in Vilnius has a long tradition, going back more than 300 years. Some people claim that one of the fi rst care and treatment facilities in Central and Eastern Europe was located in Vilnius. That institution was the local St. Jacob’s hospital, which after more than 90 years of operation, i.e. in 1799, received that name. The same hospital continued operation until the year 2005, when a decision was made to fi nally close it down. By mid 19th century, due to increasing demands in hospital care, as well as increased social needs, many other similar institutions were soon established, among them the “Sawicz” hospital and the Jewish hospital, which continued to operate and grow into the times of the Second Polish Republic. Władysław Zahorski wrote about the origins of the fi rst hospitals in Vilnius already in the interwar period, however his focus was on the early days of local treatment facilities. The article aims to describe the history of the oldest municipal hospitals in Polish Vilnius in the interwar period, up until the year 1939. The foundation of the article is established by using historic archives of the City Hall that are currently located in the Lithuanian Central State Archives (Lietuvos Centrinis Valstybes Archyvas) and in the Special Collection of the General Medical Library, together with old calendars, periodicals, and studies on the subject.