The General Hospital of Athens "Elpis" is a hospital in the center of
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
, Greece. It is the oldest active hospital in the country.
The foundation stone of the Municipal Hospital of Athens "Elpis" was laid in June 1836 at 50 Akadimias Street, where today the Spiritual Center of the Municipality of Athens is housed. The plans were by the German architect F. Stauffert, with some modifications by his compatriot Eduard Schaubert (1804–1860). The construction was undertaken by the Danish architect Christian Hansen, making some additional modifications. The central part of the building was completed in 1842, through the support of fundraisers and donations from
King Ludwig of Bavaria (
Otto's father), the
Duchess of Plaisance and many other Greeks such as
Konstantinos Bellios,
Alexandros Mavrokordatos
Alexandros Mavrokordatos (; 11 February 179118 August 1865) was a Greek statesman, diplomat, politician and member of the Mavrocordatos family of Phanariotes.
Biography
In 1812, Mavrokordatos went to the court of his uncle John George Caradja ...
, Konstantinos Galatis, Rallou Mourouzi and others.
It operated on Akadimias Street until 1971 when it moved to its current premises, on Dimitsanas Street in
Ampelokoipoi, just behind the
refugee camps on Alexandra Avenue. A relocation that was considered as far back as 1892 and was initially attempted in June 1904, with the foundation stone of the new hospital building being laid on the then municipal plot of Ampelokoipoi. However, the relocation to the new building will take place about 70 years later as it will be used initially by the
Hellenic Red Cross for the care of the wounded of the
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...
and then handed over to the Ministry of Defense.
Η Καθημερινή - Η «Ελπίς» των 156 χρόνων ανακαινίζεται
/ref>
In the hospital many figures of the medical science of Greece started their medical careers who later participated in the establishment of many of the newest hospitals in Athens, such as Theodoros Aretaios, Spyridon Magginas, Nikolaos Makkas, Marinos Geroulanos, Alivizatos and others. He treated, among others, the wounded of the 1893 war, the Thessalian and Cretan refugees, the wounded of the Balkan Wars, the Asia Minor refugees, the soldiers of the Greco-Italian War and the Athenians during the famine of the occupation.
It has been part of the National Health System since 1983.
References
{{coord missing, Greece
Hospitals in Athens
Hospitals established in 1842
1842 establishments in Greece