Château de Lourmarin, Lourmarin, France

Château de Lourmarin was originally a 12th-century fortress which was transformed in the 15th century by Foulques d'Agoult, chamberlain of King Rene I. of Anjou. After 1526 the castle belonged to Louis d’Agoult-Montauban and his wife Blanche de Lévis-Ventadour and the new annex made the building the first Renaissance building in the Provence Region.

Afterwards the castle became the residence of the Créqui-Lesdiguières family, who were the lords of Château de La Tour d'Aigues. Despite owning the castle, they never took residence in it, and this state of affairs continued until the beginning of the French Revolution.

After the Revolution, and despite having two more owners, the castle slowly descended into ruins.

Finally, in 1920, Robert Laurent-Vibert, a producer of cosmetics, bought the ruined castle and employed the architect Henri Pacon to restore it. In 1925, Laurent-Vibert died in a car accident. In his will he donated the castle to the Académie des Sciences, Agriculture, Arts et Belles Lettres under condition that it should be transformed into a trust, which would support young artists.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Damian Mottram (4 months ago)
It would be very hard unless the chateau was unexpectedly closed or someone had some unusual experience whilst there to not score the chateau as ‘excellent’ and five stars. Great explanations of everything in English as well as in French and a superb 60 - 90 minutes. Fascinating and informative and beautiful

Cali Netizen (5 months ago)
Wonderful visit to the castle. Don’t miss the wine cave near the parking, taste some wine and buy some bottles. Bottles are available at all price levels. We paid 8.50 EUR for a good bottle! Some are as high as 120 EUR !

Mary Krstevski (5 months ago)
Chateau De Lourmarin like many other castles started as a fort which was transformed into a beautiful chateau in the 15th century. The village of Lourmarin is beautiful in its own right. It is nestled between vineyards, olive groves, and almond orchards. Lovely cobbled stone streets are lined with shops and restaurants offering delicious Provincial cuisine.

Emily Kalia (5 months ago)
Loved exploring Chateau de Lourmarin on our recent visit to Provence. Super kid friendly, and the 5-yr old in our group had a blast exploring! Beautiful grounds, amazing history, and lovely staff! Highly recommend!

Brigitte Hanna (7 months ago)
We did a quick visit while our day tour was stopped in Lourmarin. Definitely worth the price of admission. The flowers were spectacular and the different rooms inside are well preserved and furnished.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Zvonimir Hrvoj

Historic Site of the week

Church of St Donatus

The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.

The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.

The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.

Château de Lourmarin

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Church of St Donatus