Les Baux-de-Provence is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the province of Provence in southern France. It has a spectacular position in the Alpilles mountains, set atop a rocky outcrop that is crowned with a ruined castle overlooking the plains to the south. Its name refers to its site: in Provençal, a bauç is a rocky spur. The village gives its name to the aluminium ore bauxite, which was first discovered there by geologist Pierre Berthier in 1821. Les Baux-de-Provence is part of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (meaning “the most beautiful villages of France”).
The defensive possibilities of Les Baux led to the site being settled early on in human history. Traces of habitation have been found dating back as far as 6000 BC, and the site was used by the Celts as a hill fort or oppidum around the 2nd century BC. During the Middle Ages it became the seat of a powerful feudal lordship that controlled 79 towns and villages in the vicinity. The lords of Baux sought control of Provence for many years. They claimed ancestry from the Magus king Balthazar and placed the Star of Bethlehem on their coat of arms. Despite their strengths, the lords of Baux were deposed in the 12th century. However, the great castle at Les Baux became renowned for its court, famed for a high level of ornateness, culture and chivalry. The domain was finally extinguished in the 15th century with the death of the last princess of Baux, Alice of Baux.
Les Baux is now given over entirely to the tourist trade, relying on a reputation as one of the most picturesque villages in France. Its population of 22 in the old village is a fraction of its peak population of over 4,000, and many of its buildings (in particular the castle) are picturesque ruins. Zwei landwirtschaftliche Produkte der Umgebung dürfen offiziell die Herkunftsbezeichnung der Gemeinde tragen. Der Wein vom Südrand der Alpilles darf als Les Baux-de-Provence AOC oder als Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence vermarktet werden und dieselbe Gegend gilt unter Feinschmeckern inzwischen als eine vorzügliche Lage für die Gewinnung von Olivenöl. Two agricultural products can officially bear the designation of origin of the municipality. The wine from the southern edge of the Alpilles is marketed as Les Baux-de-Provence AOC or Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence and the same area is considered among gourmets now as a prime location for the extraction of olive oil.
In the Château des Baux demonstrations of huge catapults (the biggest Trebuchet in Europe, a Couillard also called biffa and a Bricole) are given every day from April to September.
[caption id="attachment_1214" align="alignleft" width="361" caption="Alexander von Humboldt, 1806, painted by Friedrich Georg Weitsch"][/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt (September 14, 1769 – May 6, 1859) was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher, and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767–1835). Humboldt's quantitative work on botanical geography was the foundation of the field of biogeography. Between 1799 and 1804, Hu...
