Château des Baux - Les Baux-de-Provence, France
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denben
N 43° 44.645 E 004° 47.795
31T E 644658 N 4845017
The Château des Baux is a fortified castle in ruins built during the 10th century, located in Les Baux-de-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, southern France.
Waymark Code: WMTTCA
Location: Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
Date Posted: 01/06/2017
Views: 11
The extraordinary semi-troglodytic castle, situated on a rocky bar on the southern flank of the Alpilles, overlooking the village, is one of the oldest feudal establishments in Europe (castrum Balcium is mentioned as early as 975).
Although already inhabited in the Bronze Age, Les Baux-de-Provence did not really start growing until the medieval period. Built in the 10th century, the fortress and the small town it protects were ruled by the lords of Baux for five hundred years, in the thick of the ceaseless conflicts that ravaged Provence. It was also at Les Baux that the most famous minstrels and troubadours of the day sang songs of courtly love to the maidens of the House of Les Baux. In the 15th century, the lords of Baux were superseded by the barons of the Masons des Comtes de Provence. This was a golden age for the Château, before it came under the control of the kings of France.
From the 16th century on, family feuds and wars of religion brought on the decline of the town until the fortress was pulled down in 1633 on the orders of Louis XIII.
The remnants of its walls and outbuildings, its towers, the Bannes tower, the Sarrazine tower, the Parravelle tower and other nearby towers, the keep, its adjoining buildings and the former Sainte-Catherine chapel have been listed as a historic monument since 1904.
The coordinates were taken at the Sainte-Catherine Chapel.
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