L’Hôpital des Enfants-Trouvés, Paris

The early home of the l’Hôpital des Enfants-Trouvés near the Cathedral of Notre Dame.
Front of the building as seen from the Rue nueve Notre Dame.

In bygone days in France, desertion of infants was a fact of life. Saint Vincent-de-Paul, assisted by the Daughters of Charity, set out around 1630 to help these unfortunates. Within a few years, he had lain the foundations for institutions for abandoned children. The work of St. Vincent-de-Paul was recognized in 1670 by a royal edict that created l’Hôpital des Enfants-Trouvés (Hospital for Foundling Infants).

During the early years, abandoned infants and older children were gathered into several existing houses scattered around the city. Around 1748, a building was established near the Cathedral of Notre Dame that was dedicated to the care of foundling infants and benefited from regular visits from physicians and surgeons. Older children were housed at the institutions of Enfants-Rouges, Enfants-Bleus, and a house in the faubourg Saint-Antoine for older children. In spite of these efforts, mortality was enormous, and it is estimated that only 10% of the abandoned infants reached the age of 5 years.

During 1795-1814, the service moved in stages to the former Oratoire novitiate on the Rue d’Enfer, and was referred to as the Hospice des Enfants-Trouvés. In 1859, it was renamed the Hospice des Enfants-Assistés (same building, same function). See separate entry for the Hospice des Enfants-Assistés.

The early history of the hospital, as described by Arrault, its Director, in 1746, is available in French as a PDF file.

General plan of the ground floor of the early home of the l’Hôpital des Enfants-Trouvés and surroundings, including references to the the nearby Cathedral of Paris (Notre Dame), as drawn in 1748 by the architect M. Boffrand.

Plan of the 1st floor of the early home of the l’Hôpital des Enfants-Trouvés (2nd floor for American readers) and profile of the building.

The design of the hospital is described in detail in Architecture Francoise, Volume 2, pages 101 to 105, by Jacques-Francois Balondel, 1752.

After the Revolution, the original home of the l’Hôpital des Enfants-Trouvés was replaced by the modern Hotel Dieu. Historical documents and artifacts related to l’Hôpital des Enfants-Trouvés are in the collection of the Musée de l’Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris, which is in the process of being digitized but currently does not have a permanent home in Paris. See also Le Tour d’abandon.

Last Updated on 10/09/26