Swiss Maternity Hospital of Elne

Between Elne and Montescot, about 150 meters from the main road, stands a charming château topped with a unique glass roof.

Built in 1900, this château sheltered expectant mothers interned in the camps of Argeles, Rivesaltes, Saint-Cyprien, and Gurs during the period of 1939-1944. Thanks to the courage and determination of a young Swiss Red Cross nurse, Elisabeth Eidenbenz, more than 600 children were born there, away from the squalid camps, until its closure by the Germans in 1944. All were children of Spanish, Jewish, or Roma refugees.

Left in ruins for over fifty years, it has been gradually restored since 1997 by its new owner, who has given it back its former glory.