An ambulance siren wails nearby. It echoes off the walls of Szpital Praski. This hospital stands as a testament to Warsaw’s resilience. It has stood here since 1868.
Szpital Praski began as Szpital Najświętszej Marii Panny na Pradze. It translates to Hospital of the Most Holy Mary on Praga. Its origin story is rooted in a cholera epidemic. The epidemic swept through Warsaw in 1866. A lazaret or military hospital was transformed to treat the infected. The dead were buried in a nearby cholera cemetery.
After the epidemic subsided, the Main Care Council decided to establish a municipal hospital. That was the start of Szpital Praski. Dr. Zygmunt Dobierzewski became its first Chief Physician.
Szpital Praski has expanded over the years. In 1895, two brick buildings were added. Land previously used for military purposes became part of the hospital grounds. A ward for the chronically ill was established. Further construction happened in 1900. A building was erected facing Panieńska Street.
More buildings appeared in 1910. Dr. Władysław Kryze, the second Chief Physician, spearheaded this initiative. A maternity and gynecology ward opened in 1912. This was in a new pavilion.
Between 1924 and 1926, the hospital’s support infrastructure was modernized. A new building housed a boiler room, laundry and kitchen. These facilities were state-of-the-art for Europe at the time. From 1934 to 1936, a building for hospital departments was constructed. It was meant to include an outpatient clinic, reception area, nursing school and apartments. Due to a shortage of beds, the apartments and school were converted into hospital wards.
Dr. Tadeusz Milewski became the hospital director in 1936. During the defense of Warsaw in September 1939, German planes bombed Szpital Praski. Fortunately, patients had been evacuated to a nearby Jewish student house. The damaged building was rebuilt as a military hospital.
In spring 1941, the Wehrmacht took over the rebuilt Szpital Praski. The hospital was moved back to the Jewish student house. The internal ward moved to a school building. Only the pathology lab remained to serve the German hospital. Hospital staff joined the underground resistance. They secretly taught medical students.
During the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944, buildings sustained heavy damage. The hospital relocated to buildings away from the river. These included the Veterinary Institute and a school. Before retreating, the Germans did not destroy the hospital. After Praga’s liberation by the Red Army and Polish Army, the hospital moved to a school building. Medical staff established the “Boremlowska Academy”. The Medical and Pharmaceutical Faculties of Warsaw University began teaching there.
After World War II, doctors involved in creating the Warsaw Hospital in Częstochowa joined Szpital Praski. They shaped its post-war form. Despite minor damage, the early 20th-century neo-Gothic chapel was demolished in 1945.
In 1948, the rebuilt left wing of the hospital reopened. Szpital Praski housed internal, surgical, obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology and pediatric wards. A neurosurgery clinic was added. Later, a trauma and orthopedic ward was created. The kitchen was rebuilt. Central oxygen plants and an Oligocene water intake were installed. Central boiler rooms switched to gas. A central sterilization unit was established.
Between 1990 and 2000, the Medical University’s Ophthalmology Clinic was constructed. The hospital modernization finished in 2005. In 2006, a new pavilion began construction. It was intended to house the Emergency Department, radiology unit, central sterilization unit, post-operative ward, anesthesiology and intensive care unit, analytical laboratory, operating block and trauma-orthopedic and nephrology departments.
In February 2007, plaques were unveiled. One honors staff who saved Bronisław Pietraszewicz and Marian Senger after the assassination of Kutschera. The other commemorates writer Władysław Stanisław Reymont. He was treated at Szpital Praski in 1900 after a train accident.
Today, Szpital Praski continues to serve the community. It stands as a symbol of healing and hope. It offers a wide range of medical services. The hospital has a rich history. It has overcome many challenges.