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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The former thermal hospital of the armies of Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda, built between 1847 and 1886 by the Ministry of War, was designed to treat French soldiers through thermal cures. Organized in three U-shaped buildings around a garden, it included spaces dedicated to officers, soldiers, and administrative services, as well as a thermal complex inspired by Roman architecture (cradle vaults, marbles, bathtubs). A local sulphur source, Gros Escaladou, fed the facilities, including three swimming pools and nine treatment rooms.

Inaugurated in 1855 under Napoleon III, the hospital became permanent in 1860 thanks to the impulse of General Castellane, who had worked for the creation of the commune of Amélie-les-Bains in 1840. The site, described in 1862 as a model of hygiene and functionality, welcomed up to 500 patients. It closed in 1993 as part of a restructuring of the Ministry of Defence, before being bought by the municipality in 1999 for a thermoludic centre project, never completed.

Ranked a historic monument in 2007 for its exceptional character illustrating the military thermalism of the 19th century, the ensemble also includes a chapel renovated after 1967, a wooded park of 6 hectares, and hydraulic facilities (aqueduct, reservoirs). Despite attempts to convert (hotel, tourist residence), the site is now abandoned, marked by financial and judicial controversies linked to aborted projects.

The architecture, sober and repetitive, reflects the military typology of the period: limestone stone walls, brick and cayrou frames, tile roofs, and interiors organized around axial corridors. The thermal baths, on the ground floor, used Roman techniques with vaults illuminated by zenithal days. Ancient objects, discovered during the works in 1845, attest to an ancient Roman occupation linked to the cult of sources.

The decline of the hospital is part of a broader context of disengagement of the state from military thermal establishments in the 20th century. Its closure in 1993, followed by its sale to the commune, opened a period of uncertainty, between ambitious projects (100 000 annual visitors planned) and difficult economic realities, highlighted by the Regional Chamber of Accounts in 2018. The park remains accessible to the public.

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