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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Estublon, located in Fontvieille in the Bouches-du-Rhône, has its origins in the Middle Ages under the name of Grand Mas, dependent on the seigneury of Mont-Paon. This estate was then dominated by the Counts of the Baux, a powerful family of Provence. Upon the death of Alix des Baux in 1426, Queen Yolande d'Aragon, widow of Louis II of Provence, was seated in the Cité des Baux, ending five centuries of independence. The Grand Mas is then annexed to the County of Provence, marking a turning point in its history.

The reconstruction of the estate ended at the end of the seventeenth century, as evidenced by the current architecture of its façade. In the 18th century, the château de Mont-Paon was renamed a castle of Estublon in homage to a family fief sold in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. The estate changed hands several times: sold to an antique store in Paris in 1900, then to a shepherd, before being acquired in 1932 by the Lombrage family, which revived the olive groves destroyed by the 1956 frost.

In 1966, the facades and roofs of the castle were classified as Historic Monuments. The estate gained fame in 1972 thanks to the filming of the series Les Gens de Mogador. In 1998, the Schneider family acquired and developed organic farming for vineyards and olive groves. Since 2020, the castle belongs to the hotel group Les Airelles, with among its shareholders Nicolas Sarkozy and Jean-Guillaume Prats.

Today, the castle of Estoublon is famous for its olive oil AOP Les Baux-de-Provence, symbol of its anchoring in the Provencal heritage. Its history reflects the economic and social changes of the region, from medieval lords to contemporary issues of tourism and sustainable agriculture.

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