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Raymond de Turenne's cruel game in les Baux castle

The castle | BlueBreezeWiki / CC-BY-SA
Castle Baux-de-Provence castle

Lords of Baux raised this giant fortress in the 11th century. Mighty lords, but a bit too much aggressive! The most famous lord of Baux was Raymond de Turenne... A bloodthirsty tyrant who sacked and pillaged Provence at the end of the 14th century: oh, they even nicknamed him "the Provence's curse" (le Fléau de la Provence)!

The tradition says in order to have fun, this noble lord (um) forced men to hurl themselves into empty space, at the top of Baux castle...

After Baux annexion to Provence, the fortified city was more prosperous. It fell to the Crown in 1486, then to constable Anne de Montmorency in 1528, who rebuilt the castle and extended the city.

Baux became a Protestant bastion during wars of Religion, even cardinal of Richelieu demolished the fortress and the surrounding wall in 1632. The city was abandoned... Listed as Plus beaux villages de France in 1999, Baux came alive again thanks to tourism.

About the the author

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