Introduction:
Olsztyn has been one of the main centers of social and spiritual life in Warmia since the times of the Teutonic Knights. The necessity to conceive organized and supervised healthcare by the city authorities was caused by population growth, wars and a devastating plague. Previous hospitals included: The Holy Spirit Hospital and The Saint George Hospital. They had the character of shelters or leproseries and in the next centuries they were transformed into a professional, multi-profile and well-equipped main parish hospital.

Aim:
The aim of the study is to present the history of organized hospital services in Olsztyn from the early 14th century to 1945.

Material and methods:
The work is based on available literature and the authors’ own research.

Results and Discussion:
Centers functioning as hospitals for about 500 years have been chronologically presented and the type and scope of functions (services rendered) were discussed, if the sources were available on the internet.

Conclusions:
The development of hospital services in Olsztyn was similar to other cities in the region. From the second half of the 19th century, the quality of medical and hospital health care significantly increased in connection with the construction of a modern hospital as a substitute for previous facilities that did not conform to the requirements of population growth and medical progress.