The old Jewish community in Frankfurt had the beginnings of an organized healthcare system. This included three establishments to care for the sick: a hospital for Frankfurt Jews, a hospital for foreign Jews and the pox spital where patients with contagious diseases were lodged.
The two hospitals were initially located within the Judengasse near the Konstablerwache and at house No. 102. In the course of time they were moved out of the Judengasse to the Jewish cemetery and the directly adjoining plot (Völckerschen Bleichgarten). This site already housed the third facility, which had been built at the cemetery originally in 1535 for hygienic reasons. From the great Judengasse fire of 1711 until the emancipation at the start of the 19th century, all Frankfurt's Jewish hospitals were located directly outside the southern gate of the Judengasse.
The buildings housing the pox spital and the hospital for Frankfurt Jews were probably joined in the 16th century. The resulting complex stood on the spot where the Börneplatz synagogue was built in 1882 (at the back of the modern city utilities building). The complex was on one floor, with a small synagogue and housing for a nurse. The hospital was rebuilt around 1800. The third hospital, for foreign Jews, consisted after the move from the Judengasse of six small slateroofed huts. These were preserved until their destruction in World War II. The hospitals are all shown in the historical model of the city on display in the Museum.