Healthcare between East and West: Croatia at the crossroads of European medical traditions

Abstract

This paper presents the development of healthcare in Croatia through the lens of historical continuity, viewing Croatia as a dynamic space between the medical traditions of the East and the West. The analysis is focused on the transformation of healthcare institutions—from prehistoric and ancient forms of treatment to the modern public health system—highlighting their cultural, social, and architectural dimensions. For centuries, Croatia was a place of contact between Byzantine, Islamic, and Western European medical thought. This resulted in a unique developmental path for healthcare institutions, which emerged at the intersection of charitable and institutional models of care.

Drawing on a wide range of relevant literature and periodicals, the paper systematically links the history of medicine and healthcare with social reforms, public health policy, and architectural heritage, from medieval hospitals and charitable institutions to the modern public health system. It emphasises the importance of space as both a historical document and a symbol of social values, as well as the way in which healthcare infrastructure responded to pandemics that shaped society and human perceptions of disease, the interrelation of physical and mental health, and how the organisation of healthcare systems and availability of healthcare are the responsibility of the entire community. Methodologically, the paper relies on an interdisciplinary approach that includes the history of medicine and healthcare, material cultural heritage, social history, and cultural studies. In doing so, it seeks to demonstrate that healthcare is more than an institutional practice, i.e. it is an expression of broader cultural and civilisational values, the development of a system of values, historical traditions, and national identity. Special emphasis is placed on the continuities and ruptures in the development of healthcare institutions, with the aim of situating Croatian experiences within a broader European context.