ENA Marien hospital in Germany can be any one of dozens of hospitals named after the Virgin Mary — Marienhospital, Marienkrankenhaus, Marien-Hospital or St. Marien — in many different cities. So a search for «the Marien hospital» rarely leads to a single address, and a doctor’s letter that mentions one does not yet tell you where to go.
This page explains where the name comes from, introduces two Marien hospitals that are AlenMed partners, in Stuttgart and in Hamburg, and shows how to find the one named in a letter or a recommendation.
Why So Many German Hospitals Are Called «Marien»
The reason is history. In the 19th century, religious orders, parishes and dioceses founded hospitals across Germany and often dedicated them to Mary. Many of these hospitals are still run by Catholic non-profit operators: companies owned by religious orders, church foundations and hospital groups belonging to dioceses.
For patients, a church-run hospital is an ordinary part of the German hospital system. Non-profit operators, church ones included, work alongside municipal and private hospitals, and the quality rules are the same for all: every hospital must publish a quality report each year, assessed against criteria set by the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA), as the federal health portal explains in its overview of hospitals in Germany. Patients of every faith and origin are treated, and the chapel and pastoral care are an invitation, not an obligation. Another church-run hospital is St. Anna Hospital Herne.
Marienhospital Stuttgart
Marienhospital Stuttgart was founded in 1890 by the Sisters of Mercy of St Vincent de Paul, known in German as the Vinzentinerinnen. It still belongs to their order, which is based in Untermarchtal, and is run by Vinzenz von Paul Kliniken, one of the order’s companies. Today it is a central-care hospital (Zentralversorgung) with a broad range of departments and an academic teaching hospital of the University of Tübingen, where medical students complete their practical year. Since 1 September 2026, insolvency proceedings in self-administration (Insolvenz in Eigenverwaltung) have been under way for the operating company, and patient care continues without restriction at all of its sites.
Emergency care is the task of the Clinic for Emergency Medicine: its interdisciplinary emergency department works around the clock, every day of the year, and has a trauma bay (Schockraum) for the first diagnosis of seriously injured patients. The Clinic for General, Visceral and Thoracic Surgery is headed by Prof. Carina Riediger; it operates on the organs of the abdomen and chest, performs most procedures by minimally invasive keyhole surgery, and its surgeons work with a da Vinci robot. The hospital’s senior medical director (Leitender Ärztlicher Direktor) is Prof. René Schmidt. Departments and doctors are described on the Marienhospital Stuttgart page.
Marienkrankenhaus Hamburg
The Katholisches Marienkrankenhaus is one of the largest denominational hospitals in northern Germany. Together with the Catholic Wilhelmstift children’s hospital, it belongs to the Ansgar Gruppe, a group of Catholic hospitals owned by the Archdiocese of Hamburg. The hospital has been caring for patients for more than 160 years, and its nursing tradition was shaped by the Sisters of the Order of St Charles Borromeo.
The heads of department are: general, visceral and thoracic surgery with a vascular surgery section — Prof. Matthias Reeh; urology — Prof. Michael Rink; ENT — Prof. Adrian Münscher; cardiology, angiology and intensive care — PD Dr. Dimitry Schewel and PD Dr. Jury Schewel; the women’s clinic for gynaecology, gynaecological oncology and breast surgery — Assoc. Prof. Ahmed Farouk Abdelkawi EG; radiology — Prof. Christian Habermann. More about the departments: Marienkrankenhaus Hamburg.
Other Marien Hospitals and How to Find the Right One
Many other hospitals carry the name, and even the spelling varies. Marienhospital Aachen is a hospital in Aachen. Marien Hospital Düsseldorf is in Düsseldorf: the same name, written as two words. Marien Hospital Herne, in Herne, is also a university hospital of the Ruhr University Bochum.
The right hospital is identified by the city, the full official name, the street address and the department your doctor referred you to. The imprint (Impressum) on a hospital’s website names its operator: for Marienhospital Stuttgart it is Vinzenz von Paul Kliniken gGmbH, for the Hamburg hospital Kath. Marienkrankenhaus gGmbH. The federal Bundes-Klinik-Atlas hospital directory helps you find hospitals by location, and our article on the German healthcare system explains how hospitals fit into it.
If you have a letter, a referral or a recommendation, send it to us: we check which hospital is meant and tell you where your documents should go. More hospitals in Germany are described in a separate section of the site.
Frequently asked questions
Are Marienhospital and Marienkrankenhaus the same hospital?
No. Both words mean «Mary’s hospital», but it is a name, not a chain: dozens of hospitals in different cities carry it, written as one word, with a hyphen or as two words. Marienhospital Stuttgart and Marienkrankenhaus Hamburg, for example, have different operators. So identify the hospital by its city, full name and address rather than by the word «Marien».
Do Catholic hospitals treat patients of other faiths?
Yes. Treatment does not depend on a patient’s religion or origin. At Marienhospital Stuttgart, the chaplains accompany patients and their relatives regardless of denomination or religion, and in Hamburg the pastoral care team supports people of all cultures and faiths. The chapel is open to everyone, but spiritual care remains an offer: a chaplain comes to the bedside only if the patient asks.
Is a Marien hospital a university hospital?
Not necessarily; each hospital has its own status. Marienhospital Stuttgart is an academic teaching hospital of the University of Tübingen: medical students train there, but it is not a university hospital. Marien Hospital Herne, by contrast, is itself a university hospital of the Ruhr University Bochum. A hospital states its status on its website, and sometimes in its full name.
How AlenMed Organises Treatment at a Marien Hospital
For Marienhospital Stuttgart and Marienkrankenhaus Hamburg, we send the translated reports and scans directly to the relevant department and receive a date and a cost estimate from the hospital. For other Marien hospitals, we send an enquiry, and the hospital itself decides on admission.
Payment goes directly to the hospital. An interpreter, transfer and accommodation are arranged on request. The company office is in Munich, and partner hospitals are located across Germany; the page on arranging treatment in Germany describes the process step by step.
This material is for reference only and is not an offer. The treatment plan is decided by the doctor at a face-to-face consultation.