Monuments to visit Luberon

To the south of the rampart is the Fort, now a café. Two adjoining buildings reinforce the rampart at the rear, visible for a short distance. Erected in 1377, this rampart forms the eastern facade of the second enclosure of the old village of Grambois. It is built of rubble stone and is two metres thick, overlooking the village square dedicated to it. Featuring 8 narrow archways, it faces north, opposite the church.

Behind the monumental cross, built in 1753, stands the Tourrache, a tall rectangular tower whose projecting brackets at the top form the north face of the rampart. During the Wars of Religion in the 16th century, several improvements were made to the Grambois ramparts. However, despite these precautions, the Savoyard army stormed and pillaged Grambois in December 1590, marking the most tragic episode in its history. The tower was later used as a consular house in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The restored streets of the old village of Grambois are mainly cobbled, with occasional staircases featuring mule steps. Going down the rue de la mairie, two houses catch the eye with their magnificent facades. The first is set against the wall of the fortified enclosure. Its elegant basket-handle porch, topped by a mullioned window, is a real eye-catcher. The second, at the corner of Portail Neuf, rests against the surrounding wall and features a superb arched porch topped by an oculus.

In 1236, the Count of Forcalquier granted the castle to his vassals Pierre and Guillaume Jourdan. In 1388, it became a refuge for a third of the population when Bastide des Jourdans was fortified against danger. A 1555 inventory describes a relatively modest building that retains its original medieval structure, with a 13th-century base belonging to the Jourdan brothers. The square tower and main building were erected in the late 14th and early 15th centuries. Between 1530 and 1790, the Astouard and Coriolis families successively owned and renovated the property. The last lord, Joseph de Coriolis, died in 1784. At the end of the 19th century, a painter and notary (ancestor of the current owner) bought it and restored it to its current state. Today, Château de la Bastide des Jourdans is privately owned and not open to visitors, except on rare occasions.