On the origin of institutions for medical education and treatment in 18th century Copenhagen.
Sven Erik Hansen
In the 18th century The Danish state comprised Denmark, Norway, Schleswig and Holstein with a long coast line from the river Elbe to the Arctic Ocean. Copenhagen was the capital, and base for a big navy which ran a hospital for sailors. In 1736 a school of surgery was established for the improvement of the education of barber surgeons. In the mid-18th century Danish trade prospered, and the city of Copenhagen became enlarged by a new district called “Frederiksstaden” after the king Frederic V. The best architects created a range of magnificent buildings, several of which were intended for medical purposes. In 1757 a big hospital opened for clinical education of physicians and both military and civil surgeons. The buildings still exist as a museum for decorative arts. In addition a maternity ward, a nursing home for abandoned infants, a municipal hospital and a botanical garden were established close to each other. Finally in 1787 the school of surgery was accommodated in a new spacious Academy of Surgery, the present day’s Medical Museion. The buildings and the activities in them, the first medical center of Copenhagen, will be described
