Lourmarin

Lourmarin is located in the French region of Provence, at the foot of the Luberon Massif where a southern pass debouches over the Luberon from Apt on the northern side of the Luberon. The pass divides the Grand Luberon from the Petit Luberon range, an area rich in Neolithic remains and noted for its dramatic massifs and rockscapes. The Aigues Brun brook comes out of the pass and runs just to the west of the village (Aigue is a Provençal language word for "water", coming from Latin aqua).

Lourmarin has been settled for at least a thousand years, and was probably a Neolithic campsite before that.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}

A fortress was first built at the site in the 12th century, and was rebuilt by Foulques d'Agoult in the 15th century on the foundations of the earlier castle. It was restored in 1920.

In 1545 the town was burned down because its population was predominantly Waldensian protestant.

Its mayor between 2001 and 2017 was Blaise Diagne, grandson of the like-named first Black African deputy and member of a French government.Corinne Deriot, "[http://www.africultures.com/php/index.php?nav=article&no=4169 Entretien avec Blaise Diagne, maire de Lourmarin]", Africultures, 5 December 2005

A member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (The Most Beautiful Villages of France) Association, Lourmarin nestles in the middle of vineyards, olive groves and almond trees.

Extremely picturesque, the village is a magnet for tourists. Prominent sites are the village itself, the pretty Renaissance castle, the Catholic and Protestant churches and the view from the village of the Proches Bastides, a large fortified farmhouse dating to the Middle Ages. Between the castle and the village stands a chapel built for Protestants. From the village itself it is 20 minute drive down to the Durance River and then about 40 minutes on to Aix-en-Provence.

Lourmarin was the birthplace of Philippe de Girard (1775–1845), an engineer and inventor of the linen spinning mill, as well as the name-sake for the town of Żyrardów in Poland (a toponym derived from the polonised spelling of Girard's name). Żyrardów is Lourmarin's twin town.

The writers Henri Bosco (1888–1976) and Albert Camus (1913–1960) both lived there and are buried in the local cemetery. The biophysicist Jacques Ricard (1929–2018) also lived after his retirement in Lourmarin, and is also buried in the cemetery.

{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in France}}

Lourmarin is twinned with:

• {{flagicon|POL}} Żyrardów in Poland

File:20041113-002 Lourmarin Tombstone Albert Camus.jpg|Albert Camus' tombstone in Lourmarin

File:AigueBrun.jpg|Pont à la Coquille over Aigue Brun. The bridge is on the territory of the commune of Bonnieux.

File:120609 Lourmarin-06.jpg|Lourmarin

File:120609 Lourmarin-07.jpg|Lourmarin

• Côtes du Luberon AOC

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

• [http://www.chateau-de-lourmarin.com/ Château de Lourmarin]

{{Vaucluse communes}}

{{Les Plus Beaux Villages de France}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Communes of Vaucluse

Category:Plus Beaux Villages de France