Forcalquier, Povence Vacations and Luxury Travel Packages
A stay at Forcalquier (Furnus calcarius in Latin or Fourcalquier in Provençal, each name deriving from the Middle Ages when local limekilns kept the men in work)usually begins with a visit to the impressive but darkly brooding church of Notre Dame, begun in 1196. In front is a fifteenth-century fountain surmounted by an octagonal pinnacle with a plaque commemorating the marriage in 1235 between Eleanore of Provence and Henry III of England.
By then, the town was the capital of the local area of Haute-Provence, and a very powerful town it was, a seat of Counts and famous for its court where Provençal troubadours kept the revellers happy. One Count whose court was especially famous for its revelry was Raymond Berengar who had four daughters, each of whom married a king. It was said that, on one occasion, all four kings were in the town together.
These, and other aspects of Forcalquier's history are explored in the museum in the Town Hall, Place du Bourget.
On market days, the square in front of Notre Dame is thronged with stalls. Nearby is an excellent restored Franciscan monastery, the Couvent des Cordeliers, founded in 1236. The community was one of the earliest Franciscan houses in France, though the building is older, having been built as a mansion. A visit to the monastery is well-worthwhile, especially for a walk in a restored section of the cloisters.
Another walk, this time through the town's old quarters where there was once a Jewish community and a synagogue, leads to the citadel and on to the church of Terrasse Notre-Dame-de-Provence from where there are fine views of the town and surrounding hills.
Forcalquier's cemetery, about 0.5mile (1km) north of the town, is sufficiently unusual for a French cemetery for it to have become a tourist attraction in its own right. The terraces are lined by tall and ancient yews which are neatly clipped and shaped into arched niches and topiaries. It also contains small, cylindrical, drystone buildings with pointed roofs called cabanons.
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