The history of the Vienna General Hospital goes back more than three hundred years. It came about as the result of the restructuring of the "Home for the Poor and Invalid", which was founded by Emperor Leopold I in 1693 and from 1694 on was located on the site between Alserstrasse, Spitalgasse and Garnisongasse. The home was partly opened in 1695, and in 1696 it housed more than 1,000 poor people.