The State House of Mauritius

In 1746, Governor Pierre Félix Barthelemy David sought to protect the Isle de France. A triangular site nestled within the Moka Range, with vistas of the Profonde and Cascade rivers, proved the ideal spot for Le Réduit, a small fortress with battlements and a drawbridge. David acted quickly to fortify the island against enemy attack, and his project was eventually authorised by the French Company. The fortress was completed in 1749, after Edward Boscawen, an English vice-admiral, had approached the island in July 1748 with intentions to take possession of it.

Under the administration of his successor, Jean Baptiste Charles de Lozier-Bouvet, botanist Jean-Baptiste Christophe Fusée-Aublet created the French garden of Le Réduit and later introduced many rare plants from America, Asia and Europe. The years brought various alterations, and in 1778, the building was in ruins due to white ants. Antoine de Guiran La Brillane started a reconstruction which was completed in that year.

Today, the State House is the official residence of the President of Mauritius. It sits on 97 hectares of land and features a garden where a multitude of flowers grow, as well as exotic and native trees. The house is open to the public two days a year, in October and March.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons