Ménerbes and its history

As noted by Nostradamus, the old village is stretched out along a spur in the form of a ship, with a prow and a stern. The name Ménerbes recalls that of Minerva, the Roman goddess with the golden helmet. It has 1007 inhabitants and is 230m above sea level. The place has been inhabited since the early Paleolithic (a shelter at Soubeyras) and Calcolithic eras ( Pichoune dolmen, unique to the Vaucluse)

In Roman times, there was a sprinkling of villas situated around the base of the current village. Remains of a number of these have been discovered. The hermit, Castor, founded his monastery of Manaca before the invasions of the 5C and, to this day, one can still see his grotto at the foot of the mountain. There is nothing much left of this monastery, but in its place stands the Priory of St Hilaire which one can visit, where the king, Saint Louis, stopped on his way back from the Crusades. He left behind monks who stayed there until the French Revolution.

In the Middle Ages, access to the town, which was filled with subterranean passages, was by the two gates of St Sauveur and Notre Dame. This can be seen by the two golden keys which are in the armories of Ménerbes, which belonged to the Comptat of Vanaissin. It only became part of France in 1793. From the old cemetery near the 16C church, which is richly decorated, there is a magnificent panorama over the Luberon and the Vaucluse mountains. In the beautiful small square of the Hotel de Ville, there is an old belfry, with its bell tower, and the old hospice, now the Maison de la Truffe and du Vin, which is open to the public and to wine professionals.

In the 16C, during the Wars of Religion, there took place one of the important events in the history of Ménerbes. The town, taken by surprise by the Huguenots (Protestants) following the betrayal by a priest, was occupied from 1573 to the end of 1578 and endured a siege of 15 months by the Catholic troops belonging to the Pope and the king of France. Outnumbered ten to one, the troops of the town marched out in full glory with drums beating and flags flying. The people of Ménerbes still preserve to this day the huge cannon balls which set fire to the village.

Ancient houses (mostly privately owned) give old Ménerbes a proud appearance: le Castellet ( the house of the painter, Nicholas de Stael);
the Carmejane (house of General Baron of Carmejane ); the Hotel de Tingry (where the Count of Rantzeau lived before the Revolution, having fled from Denmark); the house of General Robert, which became the house of Picasso and Dora Marr, now an art gallery.

There is also the 18C Chapel of Saint-Blaise, with its wood carvings and balustrades in wrought iron and the monument to Clovis Hugues, a politician and fine 19C Provençal poet, who was born at the Moulin de Castellet.

Closer to our time, is the monument to those killed in the Resistance, which evokes the memory of five men from Ménerbes who were shot in 1944.

Ménerbes, where so many illustrious men passed by, nowadays gives shelter to a variety of painters, musicians, writers and artists of the cinema and theatre, who live in peace and harmony in some of the old farms scattered about the countryside.

To discover in Ménerbes

· Chapel of Saint-Blaise
· Monument to Clovis Hugues
· Abbey of St Hilaire (Tel: 04 90 75 88 83)
· Dolmen of Pichoune on the road to Bonnieux
· Museum of Cork Screws (Tire -bouchon- Tel 04 90 72 41 58)
· Maison de la Truffe et du Vin (Tel: 04 90 72 52 10)

Renseignements : Office de tourisme intercommunal du Canton de Bonnieux - 7, Place Carnot - 84480 Bonnieux - Tél. 04 90 75 91 90 - otibonnieux@wanadoo.fr

Mairie de Ménerbes : 04 90 72 22 05