Gordes

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Gordes
Gordes Coat of Arms
Gordes (France)
Gordes
region Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur
Department Vaucluse
Arrondissement Apt
Canton Apt
Community association Luberon Monts de Vaucluse
Coordinates 43 ° 55 '  N , 5 ° 12'  E Coordinates: 43 ° 55 '  N , 5 ° 12'  E
height 115-635 m
surface 48.04 km 2
Residents 1,773 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 37 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 84220
INSEE code 84050

Panoramic view

Gordes ( Provence : Gorda ) is a French municipality with 1773 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the department of Vaucluse in the region Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur . The municipality is classified as one of the Plus beaux villages de France ( Most Beautiful Villages in France ).

geography

The municipality is located at a maximum altitude of 635 m in the historical region of Provence , more precisely in the Luberon , which has the status of a regional natural park. There the place is grafted on a rocky promontory on the southern flank of the range of hills Monts de Vaucluse and towers over the valley of the river Coulon (also called Calavon ) opposite the Luberon mountains. The municipality is part of the Luberon Regional Nature Park .

After Avignon in the west you drive 38 km and after Cavaillon in the southwest ML 19 .

history

The Kelto-Ligurians recognized the strategic location of the place and built a well-fortified oppidum to provide cover for the city of Cavaillon . Remains of a Roman road prove that the site was important even after the conquest of Gaul .

In the 8th century, the Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Chaffret was built on the foundation of a cella that had been destroyed by the Arabs . The village has been shaped by the massive castle fortress since the 11th century. Wilhelm von Agoult, who provided the places in the entire area with city walls, mentions the castle of Gordes in a document dated November 30, 1031. His successors expanded the castle into a prestigious building. In the 13th century Gordes allied itself with the Duchy of Savoy in order to be able to stand against the French king. With the outbreak of the Hundred Years War , the inhabitants of the region sought refuge within the city walls of the fortified places, and in 1690 François Joseph de Rémerville de Saint-Quentin, a married Lorraine nobleman, described Gordes as "a large marrow enclosed in walls" . After the death of René d'Anjou , the county of Provence (and thus Gordes) fell to the French king in 1481.

In 1544 the Cistercian monastery of Notre-Dame de Sénanque, founded near Gordes in 1148, was sacked by the Waldensians . Gordes was one of the first villages in France to become Protestant, which was a very daring step at the time. In 1615, Louis XIII. Guillaume de Gordes appointed Simiane as margrave . Baron des Adrets besieged the city in vain during the Huguenot Wars . Ultimately, it was Cardinal Richelieu who - still under Louis XIII. - put down the Protestant movement and thus also strengthened the influence of the French crown in southern France.

From the second half of the 18th century, the area of ​​the city enclosed in the city walls became more and more depopulated and the cemetery was also spun off. On June 25, 1793, Gordes was assigned to the Vaucluse department by decree. In the following years the population grew again thanks to the strong economy.

Gordes pano by JM Rosier.JPG

politics

coat of arms

Blazon : "In gold with a lowered red tip, three bottle gourds 2: 1 placed in mixed up colors ."

Community partnerships

economy

Originally agriculture dominated and reddish , olive trees, figs and almonds were cultivated. The silkworm rearing was important. The local handicrafts were known for their leatherwork and silk ribbons. In addition, mining was carried out, there were several quarries in the area and iron, coal and sulfur were extracted.

In 1914 there were still eighteen windmills, which were gradually replaced by water mills.

Later artists became aware of the place. Marc Chagall fled to the southern French village that was not occupied by the German Wehrmacht during the Second World War . After the war he was first followed by Jean Deyrolle , who soon lured some of his friends ( Poliakoff , Vasarely and Dewasne ) to the pretty village.

Today the area lives mainly from tourism. Restaurants, real estate agencies and art galleries offer numerous jobs. The locally made nativity figurines and woven fabrics are in demand for handicrafts . The surrounding area is part of the Côtes du Ventoux wine-growing region . The area also supplies the local market with olives, cherries, almonds, truffles , lavender , table grapes and oak wood for cooper .

Attractions

High village center

  • The Château de Gordes , a solidly fortified castle, originally from the 11th century; the most obvious parts, however, come from the Renaissance period. In the interior of the castle, which has been a listed building since 1931, the visitor will also find an art museum of painting and the local tourist office. Particularly noteworthy in the interior are the numerous fireplaces ; the oldest is dated to 1541.
  • The fountain on the southern forecourt of the castle is from 1342. For a long time it was the only water point in the high city center.
  • The Saint-Firmin Church , completed in 1704, was built on the foundations of an older 13th century church. In addition to the foundation walls, other old buildings were also integrated into the new church, including a. the bell tower with a square floor plan, which probably dates from the 14th century. An old dungeon has been preserved at the foot of this tower.
  • The Hôtel Saint-Firmin (formerly Hôtel Gaudin-de-Lancier ), a town house from the 15th century - equipped with a park, imposing vaulted cellars, cisterns and oil mills - has been a listed building since 1998 and is now home to a fine restaurant and a first-class wine cellar with natural air conditioning.
  • The narrow streets with their tall, narrow houses are also attractive.

  • Château de Gordes

  • Church Saint-Firmin (right)

  • Wine cellar in the Palais Saint-Firmin

  • Alley scenery in the upper part

At the foot of the village

  • The Hôtel Simiane , which today houses the mayor's office (mairie), the city library and an exhibition room
  • Several old wash houses
  • A watermill
  • Various small chapels (one of which is dug directly into the rock) and hermitages
  • Private country houses, e.g. Some with swimming pool
  • The landscape with its vegetation that specializes in drought is also deeply impressive.

  • Alley scenery in the lower part

  • The rock face

  • At the foot of the rock

  • Chapel carved into the rock

At the edge of the village

  • The Cistercian monastery Notre-Dame de Sénanque from the 12th century is located north of the village in the valley of the river La Sénancole .
  • The ruins of the Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Chaffret are about a kilometer south of the village.
  • The Village des Bories , an open-air museum that has been a listed building since 1977 , extends three kilometers to the west, but still in the municipality . There the visitor can expect a cluster of old, igloo-shaped stone huts, which were formerly built by the local population (probably in the 16th century) and seasonally inhabited. These characteristically shaped dwellings are called bories .

  • Lavender , in the background the Sénanque monastery

  • Sénanque Monastery

  • Village des Bories

  • Village des Bories, agricultural implements

Personalities

Web links

Commons : Gordes  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gordes on Les plus Beaux Villages de France (French)
  2. ↑ Photo of the fountain  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on Provence en images@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.provence-en-images.fr  
  3. ↑ Photo of the Saint-Firmin church  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on Provence en images@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.provence-en-images.fr