Quantcast
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 6236

In 18th Century London, one of the tourist attractions was a working Mental Hospital!

In 18th Century London, one of the tourist attractions was a working Mental Hospital!

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Bethlem Royal Hospital is a hospital for the treatment of mental illness. Founded in 1247, it's still running today, so you can imagine it has a long and illustrious history. It's Europe's first and oldest institution to specialize in mental illness.

A curious part of this history is that in the 1700s, the hospital was considered a tourist attraction. People would go in to be entertained to get a feeling of excitement from seeing a 'freakshow.' It was so popular, that it became a destination on the London Tourist Trail, along with the London Tower, the Zoo and the London bridge.

Learn more about this at the source.


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 6236

Trending Articles