Hospice de Beaune Information
THE OLDEST AND MOST FAMOUS CHARITY WINE AUCTION
The Hospices de Beaune is the result of more than six centuries of history. Founded with the aims of healing the sick and comforting the destitute, the hospital has never ceased to develop, thanks, in large part, to numerous benefactors who have enabled the Domaine to grow, thanks to their gifts of vineyards. The funds collected at the Hospices de Beaune wine auctions are entirely destined for the institution’s charities.
The Hôtel-Dieu was built in the golden age of Burgundy in 1443 by Nicholas Rolin, the Chancellor of Duke Philippe-le-Bon. Beaune at the time was suffering from poverty and famine after the Hundred Years’ War and so as a sweetener, Rolin and his wife, founded the Hospice for the Poor, giving it an annual income and its own resources, vines and salt works.Right up until the 20th century, the sick were cared for by the Sisters of the Hospices de Beaune in the magnificent building. Its reputation spread far and wide and it became known as the ‘Palace of the Poor’. Donations were received, new rooms added with works of art included. Hospitals in other communes, Pommard, Volnay and Meursault joined forces to make up the Hospices, bringing with them donations of vineyards, which today total 53 hectares. The famous wine auction, a charity sale, held each November at the Hospices is still reaping the rewards.
