History of the Château

The Chateau was classified as an historic monument in 1973

The oldest part of the Chateau was built in the 15th century by Foulques d’Agoult, on a ruins of a 12th century fortress.

In 1526, Louis d’Algoult-Montauban and his wife, Blanche de Lévis-Ventadour, decided to enlarge the “Chteau-Vieux” with the addition of the Renaissance Wing, the first Renaissance building in Provence.

In 1920, just as the Chateau was about to be sold to an entrepreneur for its stone, it was providenttially discovered and purchased at the last minute by Robert Laurent-Vibert, an Industrialist from Lyon, owner of Petrol Hahn.

He was also a scholar and professor as well as a member of the French School in Rome.

Robert Laurent-Vibert died in a road accident in 1925. In his will, he donated the Chateau to the “Académie des Sciences, Agriculture, Arts et Belles Lettres (Academy of Science, Agriculture and Humanities) of Aix-en-Provence, on condition that it should set up a Foundation to help young artists and organise cultural events.

This is how the Fondation de Lourmarin Robert Laurent-Vibert was created in 1927.