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Origin and history

The Saint Paul Church of Hyères, also known as the Saint Paul College, is a religious building marked by a complex history and major architectural transformations. Classified as a Historical Monument in 1992, it is distinguished by its 12th century nave partially rebuilt in the 15th century in a late Gothic style, as well as its three-sided apse and five bays illuminated with flamboyant windows. A Renaissance portal (1787-1789) and a Romanesque square tower dominate the whole, while a 13th-century bulwark, whose Saint Paul Gate remains, once protected the site. At the end of the 16th century, a new radiant Gothic church, irregularly designed, was backed by the ancient Romanesque nave, transformed into a narthex. During the Revolution, the building became a temple of Jacobinism, dedicated to the worship of the goddess Reason.

The collegiate house houses a unique collection of 432 painted ex-votos, iconographic testimonies of the daily perils in Provence, some of which come from the chapel Notre-Dame-de-Consolation destroyed in 1944 during the landing. A local legend also links the site to the Templar treasure, supposedly hidden after the dissolution of their order in 1312, their property being transferred to the Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem. The church, partially in ruins in the 18th century, narrowly avoided decommissioning thanks to work in the narthex (1784), before becoming a constitutional parish, then a decader temple during the Revolution.

The oldest remains, such as the first span of the Romanesque nave covered with a broken cradle and its spiral staircase, date back to the 12th century. The square bell tower, perhaps from the 17th century, surmounts a west facade lined with stone, while the foothills of the bedside re-use rustic bosses, remains of the old fortifications of the upper city. A charter of 1056 mentions a first church of Saint Paul, but the present building is attested as early as 1182 by an act of Alphonse I, Count of Provence. It was set up as a collegiate church in 1572 and was partially rebuilt on that date, before the parish was transferred to the church of Saint-Louis in 1842.

In the 19th century, a staircase and a door were built facing the harbour to facilitate access from the lower town, reflecting the adaptation of the monument to the changing needs of the community. Its classification in 1992 now protects the whole, including its access staircase, while its dual identity — place of worship and historical heritage — makes it a symbol of the Hyeros cultural strata, from the Middle Ages to the modern era.

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