Le Donjon

THE KEEP, VESTIGE OF THE COUNT'S CASTLE

Vestige of the new castle (1), that William II, Count of Forcalquier, had built between 1190 and 1209 in the cemetery of Saint-Nicolas, the keep of Pertuis is one of the rare examples of military architecture of the Middle Ages in Provence.

It is composed of a first floor and two superimposed rooms, vaulted in broken barrel and covered with a terrace surrounded by a crenellation on machicolation -1-.

A staircase is included in the masonry of the northern wall. The entrance was located on the second floor: it is the small bay placed above the two current doors.

The castle probably included the keep and four surrounding walls with towers

At the end of the 14th century, Guillaume Roger, Lord of Pertuis and his son, the famous Raymond de Turenne, at war with the Countess of Provence, reinforced the fortifications and transformed the castle. A vast main building was then built on the south side -2-

From 1596, at the end of the Wars of Religion, the castle is gradually dismantled. The destruction of the northern enclosure, on the side of the city, allows the enlargement of the Market Square (today's Mirabeau Square). The big round tower, called the Prison or Jalette tower, was destroyed when the rue Neuve (rue Danton) was built in 1819, as well as the Porte de la Ville (3)

A BELL TOWER ON THE KEEP, A CHURCH WITHOUT A BELL TOWER

Between 1605 and 1607, the keep acquired by the city from the King's estate was raised with a bell tower -4-.

Since the ruin of the old bell tower of the former church of Saint-Pierre, there was no more bell tower in Pertuis.

In 1605, the inhabitants complained about this situation: "it seems that we are in the worst village in Provence", they said.

The bell tower project, adopted by the city council, was designed by Esprit Boyer, a mason from Aix, Controller of the Royal Buildings. Topped by four belfries, it houses a large central bell, the 17th century drone and two smaller ones.

The two large openings on the first floor were made during the installation of the auditorium of justice and the royal registry at the beginning of the 17th century.

THE COMMUNAL CLOCK

The oldest mention of a communal clock "l'orrologe Vieux" dates from 1407 (2). Installed on the facade of the keep in 1609, it will be replaced only in 1808, indicating the time to the Pertuisiens during almost four centuries!

The current clock was made by Maison Paul Odobay from Jura in 1887. But its mechanism had to be changed at the end of the 1960s.

The keep was classified as a historical monument on December 21, 1984.

-1- The keep, end of XIIth century.

-2- The main building, XIVth century.

-3- The city gate called "du château".

-4- The bell tower, beginning of XVIIth century.

(1) The first seigniorial castle (located on the current Saint-Pierre square), had become a priory of the Abbey of Montmajour in the 12th century.

(2) Contract signed with Master Jean de Troyes, locksmith and clockmaker from Avignon