Ujazdów Hospital
Ujazdów Hospital was the oldest and largest military hospital in Poland, established around 1792 in the former royal castle in Ujazdów. It was dissolved in January 1945 after its evacuation to Kraków.
History
18th to 19th centuries
Around 1772, Stanisław August Poniatowski halted the reconstruction of Ujazdów Castle, and on 1 January 1784, he transferred it to the city for use as barracks for the Lithuanian Foot Guard. After the palace was transferred to the city, Ujazdów was divided by into a municipal area and the Łazienki Park. Part of the former royal gardens became the municipal Ujazdów Park.During adaptation works, outbuildings were expanded, including pavilions with internal courtyards, stables, a carriage house, and a lazaretto. Tadeusz Kościuszko planned to convert the barracks into a lazaretto during the Kościuszko Uprising, but this was not realised until 1 January 1809, when a permanent military hospital was established in the castle. On 15 June 1818, by order of Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, the Main Military Hospital, named "Ujazdów Hospital", was founded. In the mid-19th century, the Russians constructed several additional buildings near the castle. By the late 19th century, the hospital expanded further with 20 new red-brick pavilions on the northern and western grounds. The sprawling complex was serviced by a narrow-gauge railway.
On 1 January 1916, under German occupation, a railway siding was added to transport the wounded.
1918–1939
In the Second Polish Republic, Ujazdów Hospital was closely tied to training medical personnel for the Health Service.September Campaign of 1939
During the defence of Warsaw, on 7 September 1939, part of the hospital staff was evacuated, leaving the wounded and sick without adequate care. The hospital was damaged during German air raids.Approximately 600 deceased patients were buried under the hospital's wall, facing Ujazdów Park, in a temporary Warsaw Defenders' Cemetery. The remains were exhumed in 1950 and reburied at Powązki Military Cemetery.
After the capitulation of Warsaw on 28 September 1939, the hospital continued medical operations under strained conditions. In 1941, parts of the bombed Hospital of the Holy Spirit were relocated there. Beyond core medical duties, the hospital maintained ties with the Polish Underground State. In the so-called "Ujzdów Republic", it organised medical training for doctors and nurses and conducted research., a University of Warsaw professor, established a Disabled Retraining Institute on 1 January 1941 and a modern rehabilitation facility, unique among occupied countries. The hospital issued false disability certificates for hiding soldiers, aided Jews and others pursued by the Gestapo, and supported Soviet prisoners of war held in a separate guarded pavilion without basic care.
Notable doctors included,,, and. From 1 January 1940 until the Warsaw Uprising outbreak on 1 August 1944, the hospital was commanded by Colonel Doctor, chief sanitary officer of the Home Army's Main Command.
Until January 1945
During the German occupation, many lecturers and graduates of the at Ujazdów fought in the Home Army.On 1 August 1944, Leon Strehl transferred to the Malta Hospital, and Lieutenant Colonel Prof. Teofil Kucharski became commander.
On the fifth day of the uprising, 5 August 1944, Germans seized the area, set fire to nearby buildings, and ordered immediate evacuation. A convoy of 1,491 people from Ujazdów Hospital, 340 from the Hospital of the Holy Spirit, and five wagons with medical supplies, food, and funds was formed. The severely wounded were carried on stretchers and beds.
The convoy departed on the morning of 6 August under Red Cross flags, with 350 women hostages from the Sejm added by the Germans. The route passed through,, Łazienki, and streets. Civilians assisted near. The night was spent outdoors at Agricola Park and Legia Warsaw facilities. The Sisters of Divine Providence at 19 Chełmska Street, near St. Casimir Church, provided support, equipping the hospital with essential supplies. By 31 August, it was the only medical facility in the area, treating hundreds, including German prisoners.
Despite clear Red Cross markings, the hospital was bombed on 30 August, killing about 300 people, including 130 wounded. Further bombings on 11, 14, and 15 September killed 200 more. Smaller groups relocated, one to 42 and the largest to Old Mokotów. A field hospital was set up at 91 Puławska Street, but it was burned during the pacification of Mokotów, killing over 20 people.
After the uprising's capitulation on 2 October 1944, the hospital operated in Milanówek. In November 1944, it was evacuated to Kraków, and in January 1945, it was dissolved.
Commemoration
On 1 September 1989 and 1 November 1997, commemorative plaques were placed on the preserved buildings of the former Ujazdów Hospital, initiated by the Polish Medical Association and graduates of the Sanitary Cadet School, respectively.On 1 January 1994, the Association of Creators of the Ujazdów Castle and Military Hospital Museum was established, collaborating with the, which inherits the traditions of the Sanitary Training Centre. The association, including former staff and patients, began collecting artefacts for a planned exhibition. Prof. Hanna Odrowąż-Szukiewicz, who worked in Warsaw's military hospitals during the occupation, contributed significantly, authoring books such as Szaniec Asklepiosa: wspomnienia żołnierzy, pielęgniarek i opiekunek społecznych szpitala Ujazdowskiego 1939–1944 and Powszednie dni niepowszednich lat. The first exhibition opened on 1 January 2000, and a boulder with an inscription was placed in front of the castle:
The Museum of the Ujazdów Castle and Military Hospital opened on 1 February 2003 at the Ujazdów Castle Centre for Contemporary Art. On 1 January 1999, the Ujazdów Hospital Avenue was named for a pedestrian path created post-war on the site of former hospital pavilions, running parallel to the rebuilt Łazienki Route. Colonel Doctor Leon Strehl was honoured with a square behind Ujazdów Park. Prof. Edward Loth was commemorated with a stone, erected on 1 January 2011 for the 70th anniversary of his death and 130th anniversary of his birth.