Yet another trip up the French countryside for a lungful of fresh mountain air – and mildew!
History
Hôpital du Coiffeur is a former convalescent facility, located at an altitude of 900 meters up a French mountain side. The site was selected in 1889 for its clean and fresh air, and protection from the wind. with work beginning in August 1889 under the direction of two architects Strasbourg, Brion and Beminger. In February 1893, the buildings were acquired by the Strasbourg Protestant deaconesses, that is their place of cure and holiday until August 1914. In 1920, the hôpital was bought by the Fund Employee Insurance, one of the social insurance funds of the time. Since then, the hôpital changed owners several times and undergoes transformations significantly altering its exterior and interior appearance, until finally closing in 2011. The building is currently for sale.
[Source: heavily modified from Wikipedia]
The explore
Again another early start as we headed off into France and already it had started badly. My main camera was off for repair, the result of water damage to the electronics from my visit to Chartham, so I wasn’t expecting much from the trip with a back up camera and a tripod having a head failure. But still, we pressed on and after locating access, we mooched around the facility for a few hours, soaking in what it must have been like at its busiest.
Photos
Leave a Reply