The building above is a very old Hospital. It has been a hospital since 1395 & still heals the sick today. It has something quite unique in the world, & it is a functional space which I think every hospital could perhaps consider to include into future new hospital designs.
...past some more recent stencilled art work...
...and admire more of the whole building.
Then we found the entrance...to the world's only currently operational hospital wine cellar.
YES...this hospital has it's own wine cellar & they STILL MAKE WINE HERE!
Wine was fed to the patients & aided healing ,as it...and I quote ... "quenched thirst, relieved pain and lessened hardship in expectation of better days to come".
We were awestruck by the cave lined with bricks & it's 60 huge vats. The largest has a storage capacity of 267 hectolitres! That's a lot.
Me being me, I was enamoured by the fact that these were not just plain ordinary vats, they were decorated with carved wood decoration. Above the two dolphins sit below a carved label declaring the type of wine within.
Jeff was very proud of himself for finding the oldest barrel there, which allegedly still contains wine from 1472. Wouldn't it be interesting for a scientist to put a drop of that under the microscope!
The mermaid was my favourite of the barrel decorations, although I was a bit uncertain about the location of the barrel tap!!
It was a fascinating visit to an incredible site, and yes, of course we bought a bottle of their wine...although it has a much more recent vintage than 1472! We haven't opened it yet, but I am expecting GREAT things!!!!!!!
Come on Royal Adelaide Hospital... how about a wine cave in amidst your foundations!!
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