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Property called Le Plantier de Costebelle à Hyères dans le Var

Property called Le Plantier de Costebelle

    210 Chem. de la Vertaubanne
    83400 Hyères
Private property
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Propriété dite Le Plantier de Costebelle
Crédit photo : Jigsaww - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1900
2000
1857
Purchase of land by Baroness de Prailly
1859-1861
Construction of the villa
1876
First flowering of *Yucca filifera* in Europe
1892
Visit of Queen Victoria
1896
Purchased by Paul Bourget
1976
Partial classification at Historic Monuments
2009
Label *Remarkable garden*
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Facades and roofs of the house (H 312) : inscription by order of 26 December 1976

Key figures

Hortense Pauline Husson de Prailly - Founder of the villa Sponsor of construction in 1857.
Victor Trotobas - Villa architect Designed the neo-palladian building.
Paul Bourget - Writer and Owner (1896-1935) It receives the literary and political elite.
Reine Victoria - Host illustrated in 1892 Stays with Prince Henri de Battenberg.
Général Marius Daille - Heir of Paul Bourget Owner until 1978.
Charles Huber - Horticulturalist and botanist Collaborate in the creation of the park.

Origin and history

The Plantier de Costebelle is a neo-Palladian villa built between 1859 and 1861 in Hyères, Var, by Baroness Hortense Pauline Husson de Prailly. Located on the heights of Costebelle, it overlooks the Hyères harbour and the islands of Hyères. The property, originally named Villa des Palmiers, is designed as a resort for the intellectual and religious elite of the 19th century, including Father Henri Lacordaire and Bishop Felix Dupanloup.

The Baroness of Prailly, originally from Lorraine, bought the land in 1857 from Ernest Desclozeaux, a retired magistrate. It entrusts construction to the hyerois architect Victor Trotobas, inspired by Italian Palladian villas. The botanical park, created with the help of horticulturalist Charles Huber, became an acclimatisation garden for exotic species such as the Phoenix dactylifera and the Yucca filifera, which bloomed for the first time in Europe in 1876.

In 1892, the villa welcomed Queen Victoria, who lived there with her husband, Prince Henri de Battenberg. The property was sold in 1896 to the writer Paul Bourget, who renamed it Le Plantier de Costebelle. Bourget received literary and political figures, such as André Gide, Henry James, and Edith Wharton, until his death in 1935. The villa is then transmitted to General Marius Daille, heir to Bourget.

The neo-Gothic chapel, built in the 1860s, houses stained glass windows and statues dedicated to the Virgin and Saint Dominique. The park, labeled Remarkable Garden in 2009, preserves rare species such as the Cyprus shrub and Chilean coconut trees. The property, partially classified as a Historical Monument in 1976, is now a writer's house open to the public by appointment.

During World War II, the villa was requisitioned in 1943, and its archives were transferred for protection. In 1980, part of Bourget's collection of primitive Sienese paintings was transferred to the Chambéry Museum via a dance. Today, the Plantier de Costebelle combines private housing and cultural openness, preserving its architectural and botanical heritage.

The estate is a testament to the golden age of Azurean resorts, mixing literary, religious and botanical history. Its park, unchanged since the 19th century, offers a preserved setting where Mediterranean and exotic species are side by side, under the protection of heritage labels.

External links