La Prison Hotel, Beziers, France.
During my few days away in the south of France in the town of Beziers I stayed in a very unique hotel and wanted to share the history behind it and some photography of the building.
La Prison, as you can probably guess, is named after its prison that first existed there in 1867. The Prison functioned up until fairly recently until 2009. The building was left to fall into disrepair and neglect for some time until it was remarkably transformed into a quirky hotel.
The History:
The location of the prison was positioned next to the Saint- Nazaire cathedral (which I recommend you visit). In 1843 the plot of land next to the cathedral became available and a local competition for architects to design the prison was launched. The Revolution of 1848 accelerated the need for a larger prison; the other French prisons in Toulon and Rochefort were overcrowded. Therefore, it was imperative that this prison was constructed.
Throughout its history, the use of the guillotine was used and in total nine prisoners were executed under its blade. The last execution took place in 1949 of two men, René Antoine Fournial and Elie Hubert Vève, who had killed a local doctor.
Originally the prison was meant to house 50 prisoners, however overcrowding was rife and at some points capacity exceeded up to 300 prisoners.
The Hotel today:
The hotel today has 50 rooms, most of them are converted vaulted prison cells. We stayed in a twin room, however they also have single rooms and larger family rooms available too.
Each of the cells has a private bathroom attached. I loved the old heavy steel doors and the high perched windows in each of the rooms really made you think about it’s past and what those four walls of your cell would have seen.
As you walk towards the rooms from the entrance, you can see the classic penitentiary style set over three floors. The decoration is industrial and raw, however they have removed the metal bars on the windows - the views from the windows are outstanding, overlooking the river Orb and over to the French countryside.
There is a restaurant situated next door, and an outdoor terrace and swimming pool area. They also have a small shop area where you can buy local souvenirs and if you so desire a prison style jumpsuit.
I booked my room via booking.com but I will link the hotels website below if you so wish to stay when in Beziers.
