EYGUIERES - The Défends massif in Eyguières

Queen Jeanne’s castle and chapel, built between the 11th and the 13th centuries, have had a tumultuous history. This strategic position allowed military and economic control of the Eyguières valley as well as the communication routes to the south and east of the Alpilles, guaranteeing its owner considerable income. The major crossroads have for a long time helped the transhumant herds of the Crau to take the routo des alpages (alpine pasture roads).

At the junction between the Crau plain ant the lower Durance valley, the village of Eyguières occupies a small valley sheltered by the hills of Mont Menu, Défends and Roquemartine. Since the 11th century, the village has taken advantage of this unique site and its abundance of springs, which were quickly channeled and exploited, to establish itself. Theses resurgences gave the town its name and coat of arms: Eyguières, formerly spelled “Aiguières” come from the Provencal “Eiguiero” and refers to a vessel for holding water. The groundwater of the Defends massif supplies water to all three of the village natural springs: the Gilouse fountain, the Bormes fountain, and the Font Vieille. In the distance, you can perceive Les Opies, the highest point in the Alpilles Mountains, rising to 498m.

Under the Old Regime, a “défends” was an estate reserved for the exclusive use of a lord. All activities (hunting, harvesting, gathering dead wood, or pastures) were prohibited to the population. Numerous lawsuits pitted communities against their lords over the rights to use these lands. In Eyguières, the Count of Sade (a distant relative of the Divine Marquis) had placed the entire mountain range under défends. Until the Revolution, grazing livestock there was therefore prohibited.

The recognizable silhouette of Mont Ventoux, the “giant of Provence,” marks the horizon. Crowned with white limestone fragments that give it a snowy appearance, it’s the highest point in the Vaucluse Mountains at an altitude of 1,911 m. To its left, in the foreground, the cliffs that close off the Roquemartine plain mark the eastern limit of the Alpilles mountain range. The Luberon mountain range faces them, separated from the Alpilles by the bed of the Durance river.,For centuries, crossing the Durance was made difficult by the river's frequent and formidable floods. One of the only safe passages for people, goods, and livestock to reach Cavaillon, Apt, and beyond to the Alps was a ferry established in the vicinity of Orgon.

Water has always been a major concern in the Provence region. With the construction of the Craponne Canal at the end of the 16th century, the silty waters of the Durance River disrupted these arid landscapes. Throughout the 19th century, canals underwent considerable development, and in 1914, the Vallée des Baux Canal enabled the irrigation of land south of the Alpilles. It irrigates around 2,800 hectares of agricultural land: olive groves, vineyards, orchards, cereals, and vegetables

The Gilouse fountain is a spring supplied by a natural resurgence of groundwater stemming from the Défends massif. This fountain was established in 1774. It provides water to a small open-air wash house dating from 1664, which can still be seen today.