[Historical development of palliative medicine].

The modern hospice movement started in St. Christopher's Hospice, London. From there it spread out rather quickly to the United Kingdom and many other countries. The first palliative care unit worldwide was founded in Montreal (Canada) 1975 and the first one in Germany was established in Cologne 1983. Until 1990 there was not much of a hospice or palliative movement in Germany. In the early nineties an increasing interest could be recognized and since May 1997 there are 34 palliative care units in existence.