The Castle "La Barben"

Anchored upon a huge rock, the castle La Barben stands its impressive block asserting the pride of the "salonnaise" land. It does not conceal its feudal origins and its architecture is overtaken by the mixing of towers, terraces, stairs and buildings of all styles and all ages.

We are unaware of at what time was built the first medieval fortress, but a document (cartulain) from abbaye Saint-Victor Marseille, then the owner, shows already a first castrum in 1069.

After the ownership of Ponteves' family, the castle was purchased by the King René in 1452, who resold it in June 1474 to Jean II de Forbin, who ruled a fundamental power in the union of Provence and the kingdom of France.

The during more than five hundred years, the famous Forbin's family, whose name is closely tightened to the provençal history, will embellish the original fortress then after it along the centuries, and namely in the 17th in a mansion.

In 1807, La Barben protected the loves of charming Pauline Borghèse, the young sister of Napoléon and her lover Auguste de Forbin.

After have been looted in 1630, La Barben passed through the Revolution period without any problems but was damaged because the earthquake in 1909. Mr Pons is the owner since 1903, and the castle is open to the public.

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The fortress of l'Empéri

Greatly embedded in the rock of Saint Puech which dominates over Salon de Provence, the castle of L'Empéri, built between the 10th and 11th century but deeply modified during the ages, was the kingdom of the archbishops of Arles, then land of roman german Saint-empire of which it was entitled of.

During 1481, at the time of the junction of "la Provence", it came under the power of kings of France. In the 12th century, giving up their towers for safety reasons, the "arlésiens" prelates selected like residences this naturally self, defence position controlling the Crau land, which they changed in true palaces and kept up to the Revolution time. From the original castle nothing exists, but the present building, if it keeps some portions dating from the 12 Th centuries, was built during the 13th century, period during which it was rebuilt by the archbishop Hugues II.

Arranged and embellished during the 15th and 16th centuries it was used like jails and barracks after the Revolution time. Hardly damaged during the earthquakes in 1909, the buildings were restored by the Monuments Historics during 1926 and hosted the museum of the old Salon before to lodge the present museum of Art and History Military.

In the Empéri stayed several kings and queens of France. François 1er and his court, Louis XIV in 1660 Catherine de Medicis came to consult Nostradamus, the famous astrologer would have predicted the throne for her three sons and the accession of her nephew, the futur king Henri IV.

The Empéri Museum

The castle houses is one of the ten biggest museums of military history in the world. With the Napoleon rooms being the culminating point of the visit. The visitors will see a living portrait of the history of France beginning with the Ancient Regime and ending with World War I (1914-1918), admiring astonishing objects of rare quality and abundance. Richly colored costumes, uniforms, flags, knives, guns and rifles, equipments and harnesses, decorations, historical souvenirs, paintings and manuscripts all form a fabulous collection. The numerous mannequins, some on horseback, are all dressed and armed with objects corresponding to the time period exhibited.