Lorgues Provence-Beyond (Beyond the French Riviera) ® Var (83510) Population: 6340 Altitude: 240 m Nearby: [ Carcés | Cotignac | Draguignan | Flayosc 7 ] Photos: A bigger view of the 12th-century defensive Porte Trébarry (32 k) Below: [ History | Dates | Wine | Hiking | Lodging ] Lorgues is a small fortified provençal town, and much of the ancient wall, defensive "portes" and other old buildings remain beautifully intact. The old narrow streets have vaulted passages, ancient stairs, and many buildings and doorways contain lovely stone carvings. Many of the old "portes" allowing entrance into the walled central village, such as the 11th-century Porte Sarrasin and the 12th-century Porte Trébarry (our photo), still have the look of antiquity with their weathered grey stones. A walking tour around the old part of the town, marked by 20 numbered plaques, visits most of the ancient sites, many of them dating from the 12th century; a small map with descriptive drawings is available from the Office de Tourisme. The 18th-century collegial St-Martin church, in the center of town, is one of the largest in the Var. Above all, on top of a massive 12th-century bell tower, is 1623 wrought-iron campanile. The main street through the center of the town is partly one-way and single-file for cars, allowing a calm, relaxed atmosphere for the many terrace cafés. Both sides of the center street are shaded by large plane trees (platanes); some of the plane trees in the upper village are centuries old and truly impressive. Lorgues is an active place, the size and feeling of a large village, with the shops and services of a town. The Office de Tourisme is located up at the top end of the main street, past the post office on the right. Nearby The D562 road between Lorgues and Carcés zig-zags through forests and fields, following the Argens river, and is a beautiful drive. There are two old aqueducts along this road. One is about 7 km from Lorgues: turn north off the D562 and go about 500m up the little D250; the aqueduct will be on your left. A second aqueduct is about 11 km from Lorgues, on the north side of the D252 road, directly beside the small road bridge crossing a stream. Ermitage St. Ferréol The "Hermitage" is not so much a hermit's hut as an impressive rectangular building sitting in the woods at the top of a hill just outside town. The building is perhaps overly refurbished, and there aren't any real ruins to visit. Even the little ring of stones marked "Oppidum" looks more like a collapsed borie than a Roman hilltop fort. But the site is lovely, and even the pair of water reservoirs are built of stone and look as if they belong here. Even without fantastic ruins, this is an excellent place to relax, picnic, follow the marked "exercise" course, or just walk through the woods, shaded by huge trees and cooled by the hilltop breeze. Name First record, 986: Lonicus; 1038 de Loneges History Prehistoric: some prehistoric vestiges remain, with dolmens at St-Jaume (2 km west on the D562), la Roque-d'Aille, Maren and la Colle. Ligurian: Lorgues was the site of a large Ligurian settlement, with an oppidum-refuge on the Saint-Ferréol hilltop overlooking the current town. Roman: some traces of Gallo-Roman occupation remain, including at Castel-Roubine to the east, in the Flourieye valley, Palet, and an aqueduct at Plaines. Medieval: Lorgues was an important town during the middle ages, popular with the monks of the Thoronet Abbey and the Hospitalers Knights. Le Castrum de Lorgas was well fortified to withstand the barbarian invasions of the 5th and 6th centuries and the Saracen raids of the 9th century. The population suffered the consequences of several of these "conflicts", up to the arrival of Austrian troops in 1764. Around 1156, the Templiers installed their Commanderie du Riou, and improved the defensive walls. Many of the current walls and fortified portes are from this period. Dates, Numbers Market: daily Marché aux raisins (grapes): 18 Sept Foire: 13 Mar, 18 Sept, 30 Oct, 4 Dec, 26 Dec Fête: 18 Sept Office de Tourisme - Tel: (33) 494 73 70 06; Fax: (33) 494 67 67 61 Wine Lorgues is in the region of the Côte de Provence wines. Hiking Maps: IGN "bleue" (1:25,000) 3444 est "Draguignan" Didier Richard (1:50,000) #25 "Maures; Haut-Pays Varois" There are no Grande Randonnée trails through Lorgues, but there are some local trails through nearby woods and hills. To the southwest, a pair of trails lead out to the village of Vigneaubière, then follow along the river Argens to Carcés. To the northwest, a trail along the edge of the hills branches out to a nice hiking area directly norht of Entrecasteaux. to the northeast, trails and small roads around the hilltop site of the Ermitage St-Ferréol continue on through the wooded hills towards Flayosc. Lodging Listing available