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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Buoux Fort is a medieval military building built in the 13th century on the remains of a prehistoric oppidum, at the top of a rocky spur in the Luberon massif. This strategic site, occupied from prehistoric times, as evidenced by the Neolithic flints, was transformed into a fortress to control the region. Its 16th century ramparts included a primitive village, a church, and troglodyte dwellings, reflecting a continuous occupation adapted to steep relief.

In the 17th century, the fort was taken twice by the Protestants, causing its destruction by order of Louis XIV. The stones of the ruins then served as a quarry for the local inhabitants, while the silos dug in the rock and natural shelters, such as the balm of the fort (800 m2), recall its defensive and domestic use for millennia. The church of the site, marked by the inscription "You who go through here, pass through me because I am the door of life", illustrates the architectural superpositions linked to its evolution.

Ranked a historic monument in 1986, the Fort de Buoux preserves remarkable elements: a three-storey main tower, a drawbridge, a poterne, and a cistern. The access road runs through a rocky fault used as a shelter from Neolithic. The remains, although partially dismantled, offer a rare testimony of military techniques and community life in Provence, from prehistoric times to modern times.

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