Built in 1917 by the Indochinese Tirailleurs present in Fréjus at Camp Galliéni prior to their deployment and under the impetus of Captain Delayen and Colonel Lame, the Pagode Hông Hiên Tu, “pagoda of the proud Hông Lac race” is a sacred place of worship, unique in the Var.
It is also the oldest pagoda in France.
Inaugurated on April 6, 1919, it subsequently fell into ruin. When the colonial troops withdrew at the end of the First World War, the pagoda fell into disrepair for lack of maintenance.
Neglected during the Second World War, it was saved from abandonment by Vietnamese refugees in 1954. Those who settled in Fréjus wanted to resume Buddhist worship.
In 1967, an association was formed to renovate the pagoda, also known as the Gallieni pagoda.
Since 1984, the Fréjus pagoda has been a founding member of the Vietnamese Buddhist Order, whose supreme leader is also its president.
In addition to its religious character, the Fréjus pagoda is also of great interest to tourists. It is one of the major attractions of Fréjus, whose region is home to buildings and vestiges that bear witness to several very different civilizations.
The most remarkable statue is the Reclining Buddha, built in concrete and the largest reclining Buddha in Europe, measuring 10m in length.
Hông Hiên Tu pagoda
726 Av Général d'armée Jean Calliès,
83 600 Fréjus
Tel. : 09 77 45 02 11
https://frejus.fr/decouverte/pagode-honh-hien-tu/
