The XVI Abrils de l’Hospital international conference, hosted at Freie Universität Berlin from 31 March to 3 April 2027, invites paper proposals exploring the reciprocal relationship between warfare and hospital care across Europe from the Middle Ages through the nineteenth century. The submission deadline for abstracts is 15 October 2026.

Warfare, Medicine, and Institutional Transformation

Throughout European history, armed conflicts have severely tested existing charitable, civic, and medical infrastructures. War catalysed profound shifts in hospital governance, spatial planning, clinical practices, and civil-military relations. Studying these institutions in wartime offers an essential lens for examining the intersection of the history of nursing, medicine, architecture, and social policy.

During the medieval period, military religious orders—including the Knights Templar, the Hospitallers of Saint John, and the Teutonic Order—pioneered extensive healthcare networks combining charitable care with military organisation. Civic authorities fortified rural and mountain hospices to defend strategic borders, while urban confraternities operated infirmaries within city walls amid factional warfare.

From the early modern era onward, standing armies, sovereign state formation, and large-scale warfare accelerated the establishment of specialised military hospitals, field infirmaries, and military lazarettos. New architectural designs and hygienic protocols emerged to mitigate contagion, treat trauma, and rehabilitate soldiers, culminating in the establishment of the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1863—a historic milestone in modern humanitarian medicine and wartime nursing care. Researchers interested in broader discussions on clinical developments and medical history can explore our scholarly articles section.

Research Themes and Conference Scope

The XVI Abrils de l’Hospital conference seeks interdisciplinary contributions addressing five key thematic areas:

Core Thematic Tracks

1. Hospitals Run by Military Orders: Administrative structures, monastic health networks, and medical duties of chivalric religious orders.
2. Transformations in Hospital Architecture and Organisation: Spatial adaptation, defensive retrofitting, and structural innovations driven by armed conflict.
3. Lazarettos and Military Hospitals: Quarantine management, military garrison infirmaries, and institutional responses to epidemics during wartime campaigns.
4. Military Hospitals and Territorial Control: Strategic positioning, rural logistics, fortification networks, and regional civic governance.
5. Care for Soldiers and Civilians: Nursing practices, nutritional regimes, surgical advances, and the blurred boundaries between military and civilian patient populations.

Submission Guidelines and Practical Information

The organising committee invites proposals for both oral lectures and poster presentations. Prospective contributors should consult our upcoming events calendar for updates and related academic conventions in the history of nursing and healthcare.

Application Procedure

Submissions must be compiled into a single document containing:

• Full name and surname
• Academic affiliation
• Title of the proposed paper
• Abstract of 150–200 words
• Brief curriculum vitae (maximum 200 words)

Proposals must be submitted by email to abrils.hospital@ub.edu no later than 15 October 2026.

Languages, Funding, and Important Dates

• Languages: Primary conference language is English (proposals and papers in Catalan or Spanish may be considered in exceptional cases).
• Registration Fee: Participation in the conference is free of charge.
• Travel Grants: Organisers are actively seeking external funding to contribute toward travel and accommodation expenses for accepted participants.
• Notification of Acceptance: 20 December 2026
• Conference Dates: 31 March – 3 April 2027
• Venue: Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

Committees

• Organising Committee: Thomas Ertl (Freie Universität Berlin), Pol Bridgewater (IRCVM-Universitat de Barcelona), Antoni Conejo (IRCVM-Universitat de Barcelona), Thomas Frank (Università di Pavia), Marina Gazzini (Università di Milano).
• Scientific Committee: Antoni Conejo (IRCVM-Universitat de Barcelona), Gisela Drossbach (Universität Augsburg), Thomas Ertl (Freie Universität Berlin), Thomas Frank (Università di Pavia), Marina Gazzini (Università di Milano), Nikolas Jaspert (Universität Heidelberg), Salvatore Marino (IRCVM-Universitat de Barcelona).