Hospitals in the Sandomierz Voivodeship in the second half of the 17th century

Abstract

The area of the Sandomierz Voivodeship was 25,790 km2. In the 16th century, it included 3,059 settlements, of which 380 were the seats of Catholic parishes. The article concerns the nature and arrangement of hospital provosts (i.e. consisting of a separate foundation, church and office of provost) and houses for the poor, which are managed by the parish priest. The number of the sick and elderly, invalids and orphans rarely exceeded 0.5% of the total parish population. In some parishes, these charitable institutions were supported entirely by alms. In some, especially in cities, they could count on the help of brotherhoods of mercy and sodalities of the poor. In Sandomierz, the city hospital was run by the Monastery of the Holy Spirit. In 1643, the Bishop of Krakow, Jakub Zadzik, allocated local tithes for the construction of a hospital for retired clergy. However, many years later, the only home that could be found there was a makeshift poorhouse. The hospital was built only at the beginning of the 18th century. Monastic hospitals, at least partly, dealt with the treatment of the sick. This type of infirmaries were located in the Benedictine monastery at Saint Góra Krzyżowa Street and the Benedictine monastery in Radom.