The 18th-century Poudrière of Saint-Paul

The poudrière de Saint-Paul is a remarkable military building on the island of Réunion, located in the commune of Saint-Paul. It is situated on the chemin de la poudrière, between Grande Fontaine and the réserve naturelle de l'étang de Saint-Paul. The site was established to repel pirate attacks during the 18th century.

The building was constructed by the compagnie des Indes orientales. The lintel of the door indicates the year 1724, and the construction was ordered by Antoine Desforges-Boucher. On September 21, 1809, troops based in Saint-Paul retreated to the vicinity of the poudrière to resist an attack. The building later became a storage warehouse during the 20th century and was abandoned in the 1970s. It has been listed as a historical monument since October 31, 1994.

In 2010, the city of Saint-Paul purchased the building from the state. Between 2001 and 2004, volunteers from the association Chantiers Histoire et Architecture Médiévales participated in its restoration. Archaeological excavations in 2013 and 2018 provided new information about the construction. The building is a semi-buried structure with a full-centered vault, covered in argamaste, which is a mortar of Indian origin. It is protected by an enclosure wall that originally featured a guardhouse that has since disappeared.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons