During the Second World War, the village of Gordes was an active resistance center against the occupiers. It was bombed on August 22, 1944 and a dozen houses were dynamited in reprisal for the death of a German soldier, killed by resistance fighters.

The existing castel dates from the 10th century, and was remodeled during the Renaissance. During the Wars of Religion, Gordes, solidly fortified, resisted the assault Baron des Adrets, cruel Huguenot chief who raged his destructive fury on the Abbey of Senanque.

This imposing castel dominates the village of Gordes. It dates from the 10th century and was remodeled during the Renaissance. You can visit it and the museum that it houses, the Pol Mara museum, contemporary Flemish painter and inhabitant of Gordes.

The terrible insecurity, because of the many invasions over the centuries, forced the people of the countryside to seek refuge on the heights. That was the origin of these hilltop villages. The strategic value of these fortified towns lasted through the Middle Ages and a part of the Renaissance, notably during the Wars of Religion.

© A. and JP. Fizet