Lourmarin (; oc, Lormarin) is a commune in the

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.department in the

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; or , ; commonly shortened to PACA; en, Provence-Alps-French Riviera, italic=yes; also branded as Région Sud) is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its pre ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

in southeastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Its inhabitants are called ''Lourmarinois''.

Geography

Lourmarin is located in the French region of

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bo ...

, at the foot of the

Luberon The Luberon ( or ; Provençal: ''Leberon'' or ''Leberoun'' ) is a massif in central Provence in Southern France, part of the French Prealps. It has a maximum elevation of and an area of about . It is composed of three mountain ranges (from w ...

Massif where a southern pass debouches over the

from

Apt Apt. is an abbreviation for apartment. Apt may also refer to: Places * Apt Cathedral, a former cathedral, and national monument of France, in the town of Apt in Provence * Apt, Vaucluse, a commune of the Vaucluse département of France * A ...

on the northern side of the Luberon. The pass divides the Grand Luberon from the Petit Luberon range, an area rich in

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...

remains and noted for its dramatic massifs and rockscapes. The Aigues Brun brook comes out of the pass and runs just to the west of the village (''Aigue'' is a

Provençal language Provençal may refer to: *Of Provence, a region of France *Provençal dialect, a dialect of the Occitan language, spoken in the southeast of France *''Provençal'', meaning the whole Occitan language *Franco-Provençal language, a distinct Roman ...

word for "water", coming from Latin ''aqua'').

History

Lourmarin has been settled for at least a thousand years, and was probably a Neolithic campsite before that. A fortress was first built at the site in the 12th century, and was rebuilt by Foulques d'Agoult in the 15th century on the foundations of the earlier castle. It was restored in 1920. In 1545 the town was burned down because its population was predominantly Waldensian

protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

. Its mayor between 2001 and 2017 was Blaise Diagne, grandson of the like-named first Black African deputy and member of a French government.Corinne Deriot,
Entretien avec Blaise Diagne, maire de Lourmarin
, ''Africultures'', 5 December 2005

Sights

Listed as "one of the most beautiful villages in France", Lourmarin nestles in the middle of vineyards, olive groves and almond trees. Extremely picturesque, the village is a magnet for tourists. Prominent sites are the village itself, the pretty Renaissance castle, the Catholic and Protestant churches and the view from the village of the Proches Bastides, a large fortified farmhouse dating to the Middle Ages. Between the castle and the village stands a chapel built for Protestants. From the village itself it is 20 minute drive down to the

Durance The Durance (; ''Durença'' in the Occitan classical norm or ''Durènço'' in the Mistralian norm) is a major river in Southeastern France. A left tributary of the Rhône, it is long. Its drainage basin is .Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille ...

Miscellaneous

Lourmarin was the birthplace of

Philippe de Girard Philippe Henri de Girard (February 1, 1775 – August 26, 1845aged 70) was a French engineer and inventor of the first flax spinning frame in 1810, and the person after whom the town of Żyrardów in Poland was named. He was also the uncredited i ...

(1775–1845), an engineer and inventor of the

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...

spinning mill, as well as the name-sake for the town of

Żyrardów Żyrardów is a town and former industrial hub in central Poland with approximately 41,400 inhabitants (2006). It is the capital of Żyrardów County situated in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999); previously, it was in Skierniewice Voivodes ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

derived from the polonised spelling of Girard's name). Żyrardów is Lourmarin's twin town. The writers

Henri Bosco Henri Bosco (16 November 1888 – 4 May 1976) was a French writer. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature four times. Life Bosco was born in Avignon, Vaucluse into a family of Provençal, Ligurian and Piedmontese origin. Through ...

(1888–1976) and

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...

(1913–1960) both lived there and are buried in the local cemetery. Another famous writer, British

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

Peter Mayle Peter Mayle ( "mail"; 14 June 1939 – 18 January 2018) was a British businessman turned author who moved to France in the 1980s. He wrote a series of bestselling memoirs of his life there, beginning with '' A Year in Provence'' (1989). Early l ...

lived in Vaugines, near Lourmarin, until his death in 2018. One of his books, ''A Year in Provence'', giving the chronicle of a British

who settled in the village of

Ménerbes Ménerbes (; oc, Menèrba) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. The walled village on a hilltop in the Luberon mountains, foothills of the French Alps, constitutes the main s ...

, was made into a TV series and a film. Another of his books was also made into the film '' A Good Year'' (2006) directed by

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades th ...

and starring

Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent ten years of his childhood in Australia, and moved there permanently at age twenty one. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maxi ...

, which was filmed nearby in the same region. As a result, in recent decades Luberon and its towns and villages like Lourmarin and Ménerbes, which probably were the lesser known parts of Provence, even in France, became better known in the English-speaking world.

Twin towns – Sister cities

Lourmarin is twinned with: *

Gallery

File:20041113-002 Lourmarin Tombstone Albert Camus.jpg, Albert Camus' tombstone in Lourmarin File:AigueBrun.jpg, Pont à la Coquille over Aigue Brun. The bridge is on the territory of the commune of

Bonnieux Bonnieux (; oc, Bonius) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,206. In the plain below the village stands the notable Roman bridge the Pont Juli ...

. File:120609 Lourmarin-06.jpg, Lourmarin File:120609 Lourmarin-07.jpg, Lourmarin

References

External links

Château de Lourmarin
{{Authority control Communes of Vaucluse Plus Beaux Villages de France