Musée de Villèle, Historical museum in Saint-Paul, Réunion, France.
The Musée de Villèle is a colonial estate containing a main house, chapel, kitchen, and former hospital building set across expansive grounds. The site preserves the architectural and cultural remains of a sugar plantation in Réunion.
The estate was established by the Panon Desbassayns family and became one of the largest plantations in the region. The property changed hands in 1927 and was eventually transformed into a museum to document this period.
The collections show how plantation owners and enslaved people lived on the island through period furniture, documents, and everyday objects. These items reveal the contrasting worlds that existed within the same property.
The site is open Tuesday through Sunday with the option of self-guided visits or organized tours of the main house and chapel. Wear comfortable shoes as the grounds are expansive and you will walk between several buildings.
The Chapelle Pointue was built in 1841 specifically to provide religious instruction to enslaved people. This narrow, tower-like building is architecturally unusual for churches and reflects the specific needs of that era.
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