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A little history of Gréoux-les-Bains castle

The castle | Calips / CC-BY-SA
Castle Gréoux-les-Bains castle

Gréoux’s bathes

Near river Verdon, there’s a small village with its castle... welcome to Gréoux-les-Bains!

Les Bains ("bathes"), because people used to do balneology here, since ages.

They dedicated them to the nymph of Gréoux, nymphis grisellicis, from gresum which means "pain" and lin "water".

Water against the pain? Maybe... Anyway, even Napoleon’s sister, Pauline, came in 1805!

Templars in Gréoux?

But let's get back to our point: according to some documents, Templar knights owned the place in the 12th century.

Oh, it’s only a legend, actually: Templars really came in Provence in the beginning of the 12th century, but they never lived in Gréoux...

The fortified castle

The story began in 1324, when Arnaud de Trian became lord of Gréoux: knights of Saint-John the Hospitaller, former owners, gave it to him.

So, between the 12th and the 14th century, the keep and the main building were raised.

In 1379, Gréoux fell to Glandeves family, then in the beginning of the 18th century to the d’Audiffret.

Jérôme d’Audiffret made a huge restoration in his castle, repairing roofs and façades, opening vast windows and refitting the rooms; they said he even remade every lock to every door!

But the Revolution came... the castle was abandoned and damaged.

Nowadays, you can visit it on summer, they make cultural exhibitions in the inner courtyard or in the vaulted rooms...

About the the author

Vinaigrette
I'm fond of strolls and History, with juicy and spicy details!