Spital

Heinrich discovered an interesting old building in Nurnberg. It was a medieval building that was built over the river. It actually stands on two arches that form a little bridge for the water to flow under.

There was a carved wood sign on the side of the building that tells about the hospital being built between 1332 and 1339 with a pharmacy added in 1486.

 

The hospital has been around for a long time. And even though its been renovated several times, the apotheke (pharmacy) has been there since 1486.

 

These buildings teach how languages can come together and stray apart. A long time ago English and German were very closely related. Back then "Spital" was a place to care for sick people. The German word for house is "Haus". So these buildings were called Haus Spital. When the two languages separated English kept the combination and called a place for sick people "hospital". In German they dropped the Spital and they just call it "haus" or "Krackenhaus" (sick house). It was interesting to see how languages changed over time.