Short History

After the construction of a modest hospital with a chapel and a pharmacy in 1672, the Hospitaller Brothers started providing care services. We still have the list of the first patients from that year. Aristocrats and townsmen generously supported the Brothers, and several princes and bishops were engaged in the foundations intended to support the sick.

The Bratislava Convent and the hospital of the Brothers developed gradually and carried out a lot of works for the sick and poor. Already in 1694, the Brothers of Saint John of God built the first public hospital for men with 60 beds. After its establishment, the pharmacy served the hospitalized patients only. Later on, starting in 1738, it served the public as well. Among the Brothers, there were many excellent pharmacists.

The hospital faced many hardships during World War II, and after its end, the Order started to repair the hospital buildings, roofs and the church tower damaged during the war. When the communist party came to power, the hospital suffered the hardest “blow”: It was put under state-control and the Brothers were forced to leave. Only after the fall of communism, on 1 January 1995, the Brothers of Saint John of God with its prior Fabián Mačej were able to get the hospital back. It became the first non-governmental hospital in Slovakia.

In 2002, extensive reconstruction works started. The new buildings and the old reconstructed premises, listed as historical monument, were blessed in 2004. In 2016, an extension and an additional hospital storey were completed. They have significantly contributed to the high quality standard and comfort of the healthcare services. As surveys of the national health insurance companies show, the hospital of the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God has become a popular teaching hospital.