 |
|
|
|
|
onjour!
this month, we are devoting our newsletter to Les Baux de Provence, officially one of the
‘Most Beautiful Villages in France’, found in an area of Provence that is absolutely magnificent
and exceptional. Either bathed in sun or windswept, the village stands on a sheer limestone
hillside dominated by the great walls of a medieval fortress. Located about 15 miles south of
Avignon and about 10 miles northeast of Arles, Les Baux de Provence is one of the wonders of southern France.
But before continuing, please remember that you can access and read all the newsletters already
published at http://www.francemonthly.com/
|
 |
 |
|
The Alpilles
|
These small Alps, neither very high nor very long, reach just under 1,650 feet in altitude,
and spread out over about 19 miles. As you cross them, however, you enter a very strange
and surrealist world. You will discover another face of Provence altogether, one you may
not have known even existed.
|
 |
| |
The Alpilles in Provence
(Click photo to enlarge)
|
Indeed, as you go up and down the sunny roads of this beautiful region of France, you may marvel
at the lavender fields with the heady scent, or the fields of multicolored flowers, or the country
roads lined with hundred-year-old (if not thousand-year-old) olive trees, or vineyards that stretch
as far as the eye can see. But when you arrive at the gateway to the Alpilles, you are in for a treat
of an entirely different kind. Along the winding roads of this little mountain range, the pine and
cypress trees are slowly replaced by a chaotic mineral world made up of rocks with monstrous shapes,
eaten away by erosion and wind. As you progress further into this tormented landscape, you fall prey
to a new sensation, that of having passed the doorsteps of residences inhabited by sorcerers, goblins
or wicked fairies. Perhaps these evil creatures are hiding behind a rock or deep inside one of the
area’s many caves, and will suddenly spring up at you, right around a hairpin turn, to take revenge
for your bold intrusion. No doubt, you have entered the ‘Valley of Hell’.
|
|
|
|
The Castle of Les Baux
|
|
The rock outline of Les Baux de Provence’s medieval castle ruins emerges from this fantastic
world that resembles a stage set disconnected from any given time or civilization. It is easy
to see why this area was a place of refuge as far back as the earliest of prehistoric days,
and later became an important strategic location for the mighty lords who succeeded one another
there in the Middle-Ages. ‘Baux’ comes from the Provençal ‘Baou’ which means ‘spur-shaped rocky
steep slope’. It was on this 2,625 ft long spur in the 13th century that the lords of Les Baux,
who were very powerful in Provence, decided to build a castle with a keep. This strategic site
offered both an ideal observation point and a natural defense structure, locked as it was into
the south mountainside of the Alpilles. The limestone rock that was to become the fortress’
foundation also served as a quarry which directly provided the necessary stones for construction.
It was also out of this soft rock, called “molasse”, that the first houses surrounding the castle
were built.
|
|
|
Recipe for March 2007
|
|
|
|
Monkfish à la Provençale
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
‘Au hasard, Balthazar!’
|
|
| |
The lords of Les Baux claimed they were the descendants of King Balthazar, one of the Three Wise Men.
Legend has it that once King Balthazar had laid his offerings at the feet of baby Jesus, he continued
on his way following the shepherd’s star.
 |
|
The Baux de Provence at Spring Time
(Click photo to enlarge)
|
|
This beautiful star with the sixteen silver rays of light led him all the way to Les Baux de Provence,
where he founded the dynasty. This is why the lords of Les Baux adopted the sixteen-ray star as their
emblem, and chose ‘Au hasard, Balthazar’ (or ‘By chance, Balthazar’), as their motto. Whether or not
they were indeed descendants of Balthazar is hard to say, but what is for certain is that most of them
left behind reputations of aggressive warriors, more concerned with spreading their hold on Provence,
sometimes at any cost, than caring for the wellbeing of the villagers from the surrounding valleys.
When these turf wars occurred, the stone vessel-shaped fortress was often besieged and became a fortified
town. It was a thoroughly impregnable structure that could only possibly be taken by cunning. Les Baux de
Provence was the scene of many armed conflicts that steeped the region in blood up until the demolition
of the castle in 1631.
|
|
|
|
| |
The scourge of Provence
|
|
| |
Raymond de Turenne was one of these war-prone lords, who left a particularly painful legacy.
He was the uncle of Alix, the last heiress to Les Baux, and became her cold-hearted guardian in 1386.
|
 |
Walking through the Streets
(Click photo to enlarge)
|
He found himself in conflict with Pope Clément VII who he accused of taking an inheritance
away from him, and turned his protégé’s castle into his own hideout. As the head of a gang
of bandits, he plundered the region, pillaging villages, ravaging crops, and murdering whoever
crossed his path. Faced with so much cruelty, the pope offered him 20,000 florins (the currency
at the time), hoping that would appease his anger. But it didn’t, and the monster continued to
perpetrate his crimes in the region for ten more long years. Desperate, the steward of Provence
appealed to the king of France, who then sent a detachment of soldiers to lay siege to the castle.
Finally, with their backs against the wall, the evil man and his partners in crime had to surrender.
A treaty was signed on July 7, 1397, that was supposed to put an end to his numerous ongoing acts
of violence. But the Viscount of Turenne was a homicidal maniac, and two years later he slipped back
into his old ways. In 1400, he found himself surrounded by soldiers in Tarascon. He attempted to flee
by crossing the river Rhône, jumping from boat to boat, only he fell into the water and drowned. Alix
was finally able to gain possession of her estate. She went on to run it very skillfully, despite the
dominant male chauvinist thinking of the time, when it was accepted as fact that women didn’t even
have souls.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
The Renaissance
|
|
| |
Fortunately, not all historic periods were so somber. In 1528, King François I appointed
the baron of Les Baux, Anne de Montmorency, supreme commander of the French armies. This
was to thank him for his help during the campaigns he had waged against Charles V
 |
|
The Castle of the Baux de Provence
(Click photo to enlarge)
|
Holy Roman Emperor and his sworn enemy. Anne de Montmorency both restored and enlarged the castle.
He also had a huge pigeon house built there, at a time when only lords had the right to raise
these birds and enjoy eating their tasty flesh. The pigeons were also used as messengers, since
they could carry letters quickly and without risk of interception. He reinforced the ramparts
and added large moats. Wealthy noblemen followed him to Les Baux and commissioned magnificent
Renaissance style residences. You can still admire these elegant and refined townhouses today,
such as the Hôtel de Manville, the Hôtel des Porcelet, and the Hôtel de Brion. When François I
was invited to the castle of Les Baux in 1538, he crossed the only city gate, the Eyguière Gate,
to find a pretty city of close to 6,000 people. Les Baux had indeed become a large, prosperous
and safe town. But this period of calm was unfortunately soon to be interrupted when, starting
in 1560, wars of religion pitted Catholics against Protestants. Les Baux became a Protestant
stronghold, thereby dividing and devastating the region.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
The Water Gate |
|
| |
The geographic location and the defense system of the citadel rendered it virtually impregnable.
In case of an impending siege, the villagers would take refuge in the castle, where food and
weapons were stockpiled. There still wasn’t a water source in the village, so in peacetime water
was collected from the small valley spring, but it was also possible to collect rainwater in the
tanks that had been dug for that purpose. Nonetheless, in case of a siege, the scarcity of water
always became the biggest problem. In 1630, Louis XIII and his minister, Cardinal Richelieu, were
both determined to put an end to the power of the lords of Provence. They came up with a cunning
plan to capture the fortress. Aside from a few secret passages dug into the rock, the castle was
only accessible through the Eyguière Gate, also known as the Water Gate. And so it was through
this gate that some of the king’s soldiers managed to enter the town, disguised as women carrying
water. The villagers were exhausted after 27 days of siege and offered no resistance. However, the
fate of the fortress of Les Baux had clearly already been decided, since the following year Louis XIII,
who still saw the castle as a potential threat to the kingdom, had it demolished once and for all.
|
|
|
| |
The Legend of Grossane Olives
|
|
| |
When King Balthazar followed the silver sixteen-ray star to Les Baux, he wasn’t empty-handed.
 |
|
Scenic View from the Baux de Provence
(Click photo to enlarge)
|
He had brought with him a few cuttings of a certain variety of olive tree, called ‘Grossane’
that he immediately had planted at the foot of the rock and in the valley. The tree adapted
itself perfectly to the climate of Provence and produced a bounty of beautiful olives. Sadly,
in the Middle Ages, oil was not only poured over delicious tomato and basil salads; it was also
poured, boiling hot, over the heads of assailants from the top of the castle’s projecting parapet.
The lords of Les Baux determined that the boiling point of Grossane olive oil was lower than that
of the other olive varieties in the valley, and so they demanded that their subjects grow this
new variety in their olive groves, and that the oil they produced be turned over to them as taxes.
That is the legend of the Grossane olives. It is hard to imagine that the olive tree, today the
emblem of Provence and a symbol of peace, could have at any one point in time been used to such
a brutal and barbaric end.
|
|
|
|
| |
An Invitation to Travel... |
|
| |
You will have a delightful time strolling along the small streets lined with medieval houses,
visiting the magnificent Renaissance residences, entering the St Vincent church to admire its
11th century chapel dug right out of the rock and listening to the story of the goat-drawn
cart during the Christmas ‘Pastrage’ celebration (from the word ‘patre’ which means shepherd).
But not until you reach the ruins of the fortress will you be able to really take in the power
and solemnity of this place and admire, from the edge of the cliff, one of the most beautiful
panoramas in France. This breathtaking landscape will carry your gaze as far as Camargue and
Avignon. As you walk back down the hill, there will be more surprises awaiting you. A few more
visits not to be missed include the cathedral of images, a huge man-made quarry with over 65 ft
walls that stand as natural giant canvases for the greatest painters of all times. Paul McCartney
himself was so impressed by the boldness and excesses of the area that he wrote a song about it:
‘I owe it all to you’. Finally, you mustn’t leave the area of Les Baux de Provence without a tour
of the Castellas olive farm, one of eight regional AOC farms [AOC, or ‘Appellation of Controlled
Origin’ is given to the highest quality producers of various food products]. There, you will find
the most refined and fruity olive oils you have ever tasted. Also, as you drive through the area,
you should not hesitate to go meet the local winegrowers. Most of them will offer you high quality
organic wines to sample.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
