Behind La Boqueria stands the Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu, which was once the city’s main hospital. Begun in 1401, it functioned until the 1930s, and was considered one of the best in Europe in its medieval heyday – it is famously the place where Antoni Gaudí died in 1926. Today it houses the Biblioteca de Catalunya , and the Institut d'Estudis Catalans (Institute for Catalan Studies). The hospital’s Gothic chapel, La Capella , shows temporary exhibitions.
Entering from Carrer de l’Hospital, you find yourself in a peaceful courtyard garden with a cheerful bar-cafe. Off the garden lies the entrance to the prestigious Massana conservatorium and, up a sweep of stairs, the library. Approaching the complex from Carrer del Carme or down a narrow lane from Jardins del Doctor Fleming (the little playground), you arrive at the entrance to the institute, which was once the 17th-century Casa de Convalescència de Sant Pau. The public can visit the patio, in the centre of which you'll find a statue of St Paul. The building (especially the entrance vestibule) is richly decorated with ceramics. Situated up on the 1st floor at the far end is what was once an orange garden, now named after the Catalan novelist Mercè Rodoreda.
