Čáslav City Hospital Celebrates 130 Years: An Anniversary Exhibition

The General Hospital in Čáslav celebrates its 130th Anniversary in 2024. The Emperor Franz Josef I. Public District Hospital was built in the Jenikov suburb of the Čáslav town between 1893 and 1894, replacing a small city hospital, no longer able to provide for the growing population. The TBC pavilion, later dedicated to infectious diseases in general, opened in a new extension in 1904. The hospital underwent a general reconstruction and a new building was added in the second half of 1920s. From 1929, the hospital bore the name of the first Czechoslovak president T. G. Masaryk. After the war, the risk of epidemic infections abated and the policy of providing specialized care also in smaller hospitals was introduced: in 1950 the pediatric department replaced the infectious diseases and a new department for gynecology and obstetrics was built. In the 1970s, the hospital developed independent departments for anesthesiology and resuscitation, rehabilitation, and radiation diagnostics and treatment.

Čáslav City Public Hospital, Postcard, 1930s. NML Medical Museum Photography Collection

The exhibition in the Čáslav City Hospital documents the developments of hospital care in the town and the district, new medical fields represented in the hospital, and the work and the lives of doctors and other medical professionals. The NML Medical Museum has cooperated on designing the exhibition and supplied instruments and devices that document the history of medical science, treatment procedures and patient care from the late 19th century to the present day.

19th Century Diagnostic Instruments

The exhibition is open in the connecting hallway of the Čáslav City Hospital until November 10, 2024.