The Château des Baux is a ruined fortified

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

built during the 10th century, located in

Les Baux-de-Provence Les Baux-de-Provence (; "Les Baux of Provence"; Provençal: ''Lei Bauç de Provença'' or ''Li Baus de Prouvènço'' ), commonly referred to simply as Les Baux, is a rural commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-C� ...

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( ; , ; ; "the Mouths of the Rhône") is a Departments of France, department in southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var (department), Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the sout ...

, southern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

History

Although already inhabited in the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

, Les Baux-de-Provence did not really start growing until the medieval period. Built in the 10th century, the

fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

and the small town it protects were ruled by the

lords of Baux This is a list of the Lords, Barons and Marquisses of Baux. List of rulers of Baux Lords of Baux of the House of Baux * Pons the Younger (born , ) * Hugh I (born after 1059), son of the above * or "Guilhem Uc" (after 10301105), son of the a ...

for five hundred years, in the thick of the ceaseless conflicts that ravaged

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

. It was also at Les Baux that the most famous

minstrel A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. The term originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist enter ...

s and

troubadours A troubadour (, ; ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female equivalent is usually called a ''trobairitz''. The tro ...

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

. 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 Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...

. Image:4496 BAUX5005 C Recoura.jpg, View from the castle Image:1006 BAUX1191.jpg, The

keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...

Image:1004 BAUX1075.jpg, Chapel within the castle Image:4611_Baux_cr_dit_photo_Culturespaces_www_tophoto_fr_com_Armedieval_358.jpg, Trébuchet

The Château des Baux today

Visitors to the Château des Baux can see full-scale replicas of huge

siege engine A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent heavy castle doors, thick city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare. Some are immobile, constructed in place to attack enemy fortifications from a distance, while othe ...

s, including a couillard, bricole,

ballista The ballista (Latin, from Ancient Greek, Greek βαλλίστρα ''ballistra'' and that from βάλλω ''ballō'', "throw"), plural ballistae or ballistas, sometimes called bolt thrower, was an Classical antiquity, ancient missile weapon tha ...

, and the biggest

trebuchet A trebuchet () is a type of catapult that uses a hinged arm with a sling attached to the tip to launch a projectile. It was a common powerful siege engine until the advent of gunpowder. The design of a trebuchet allows it to launch projectiles ...

in Europe, which is launched during demonstrations several times daily between April and September.

References

External links

Official website of the castle

City council website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baux, Chateaux Des Ruined castles in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Bouches-du-Rhône Museums in Bouches-du-Rhône Military and war museums in France Historic house museums in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur