Hell-Bourg
| Hell-Bourg | ||
|---|---|---|
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| local community | Salazia | |
| region | Reunion | |
| Department | Reunion | |
| Arrondissement | Saint-Benoît | |
| Coordinates | 21 ° 4 ′ S , 55 ° 31 ′ E | |
| Post Code | 97433 | |
| Former INSEE code | 97421 | |
| Incorporation | 1899 | |
 Aerial view of Hell-Bourg |
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Hell-Bourg is a small village in the commune of Salazie in the French overseas department of Réunion . The place is about 930 meters above sea level in the caldera of the Cirque de Salazie . It was named after the former admiral and island governor Anne Chrétien Louis de Hell and was previously called Bémaho .
Hell-Bourg has been classified as one of the Plus beaux villages de France ( Most Beautiful Villages in France ) since 1999 .
history
spa
After Europeans discovered thermal springs near what would later become the village in the 1830s , Bémaho / Hell-Bourg was founded as a small but affluent spa town and thrived as such for more than a hundred years. Contrary to many reports of the time, the sources had been known to both slaves and locals for a long time. According to documentary records, these are said to have already been used for healing by leprosy slaves. In 1839, the colonial authorities started building a hotel for spa guests. A hospital attached to the springs was completed in 1857. In 1890 the village was finally connected to a road that could be used. When the municipality of Salazie was founded in 1899, Hell-Bourg was assigned to it.
The thermal springs were discovered in the river bed of the Bras sec ("dry arm"), which is a tributary of the Rivière du Mat . He had a flow rate of about 800 to 1,300 liters per hour and a water temperature of 32 ° C . The water contained iron , only slightly chloride and calcium and did not contain any sulphates . It was soon recommended to children, weak and anemic adults, as well as people with gastritis . In 1852 the Société Anonyme de l'Etablissement Thermal de Salazie was founded, which built the mineral bath , a casino and a director's house. There followed several villas in the Creole style for wealthy individuals.
The thermal baths soon became famous outside of Reunion too. Together with other thermal baths in Cilaos in the south of the island and Antsirabe in Madagascar , they became a popular destination for travelers from South Africa , Kenya and Mozambique , as well as a vacation spot for rich vanilla plantation owners from the east of the island. Its popularity came in part because thermal baths were touted as a panacea for many health problems and diseases that plagued many Europeans in the colonial tropics .
Decline
The springs were later bought by the Salazie community, which ceded them to the colonial administration. However, the water temperature fell in 1920, so that the water had to be artificially heated by ovens, which in turn led to the breakdown of some chemical compounds . The health resort began to lose its charm.
1948 finally broke a cyclone a landslide from the thermal springs blocked (as well as the roads leading to Hell-Bourg). An attempt to clear the springs with explosives failed catastrophically and led to the partial collapse of the spa and the destruction of the casino. The place quickly lost its importance, which had previously been responsible for its rapid development in the inhospitable mountain region.
Modern time
After a few decades in which the village was forgotten and settled by poorer farmers, Hell-Bourg received a source of income again through tourism . With a partial contribution from the European Union , around 26 of the traditional Creole villas were restored. As the only village on the island, it has been a member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (“The Most Beautiful Villages in France”) since 1999 , an award given to around 150 of the most beautiful municipalities in France. In connection with the requirements for the award of the prize, there are few or no visible modern elements in the village, such as telephone or electricity poles .
The village with its various small and medium-sized hotels, including a small youth hostel , serves as a starting point for hikes to the cirque, especially to the small summit in the center of the caldera, the Piton d'Anchaing (4 to 6 hours away) or up to the central one Summit of the island, the Piton des Neiges (2-day excursion). It is also home to a small museum, several Creole buildings from the 19th century and a famous colorful cemetery . The area is also known for growing chayotes .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Histoire de Salazie à La Réunion. www.mi-aime-a-ou.com (blocked by spam protection filter). Retrieved November 18, 2012 (French).
- ↑ RSMA: Hell Bourg. Retrieved November 29, 2012 (French).
- ^ Anne Chrétien Louis de Hell, governor de l'île Bourbon (1783-1864). (No longer available online.) In: Clicanoo.re. January 1, 2005, archived from the original on July 22, 2012 ; Retrieved November 18, 2012 (French). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b Participation de l'Union Européenne à la restauration du patrimoine vernaculaire. Réunion-Europe, accessed on November 18, 2012 (French).
- ↑ Eric Thomas Jennings: Curing the colonizers: hydrotherapy, climatology, and French colonial spas. Duke University Press, 2006, p. 94.
- ^ A b Eric Thomas Jennings: Curing the colonizers: hydrotherapy, climatology, and French colonial spas. Duke University Press, 2006, p. 95.
- ↑ a b c History of Salazie. Official website of the municipality of Salazie, February 3, 2011, accessed November 18, 2012 (in French).
- ↑ a b c Ivan case: Presentation of Salazie. Flags of the World , March 22, 2005, accessed November 18, 2012 .
- ↑ Les Thermes de Salazie. www.mi-aime-a-ou.com (blocked by spam protection filter). Retrieved November 18, 2012 (French).
