A medieval village next to the seaside, with a modern lake dwelling village at its feet ; this is how one could sum up « Grimaud ».
Sometimes this proximity brings people to confuse the medieval with the seaside village. Both of them deserve attention. Thanks to the virtual visit we suggest, you may get a first impression of their charm by clicking here.
The village of Grimaud has a long history, beginning with the Gallo-Roman age. In the 11th Century its steep summit drew the attention of the strategists, due to the fact that it was situated on a high hill peak, dominating the Gulf of Saint Tropez and controlling the access from the North and from the Maures mountains.
Until the 17th Century
the Castle of Grimaud commanded the whole Gulf; by the way, at that time and until the end of the 19th Century the Gulf was called “Gulf of Grimaud”. |
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The expansion of the village made the inhabitants move out of the precinct of the castle, and the present village made itself at home in front of the old guard. The
St. Michel’s Church, built during the Roman era, gives evidence of this moving. The religious devotion of the site was unfailing : three chapels completely preserved mark the history of Grimaud :
Notre Dame de la Queste (11th Century),
the Penitents’ Chapel (15th Century), the St. Roch’s Chapel (18th Century). |
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The civil architecture was not left behind : the village’s water supply was guaranteed thanks to a cunning gravity system constructed in the 16th Century,
the Pont des Fées (which means “fairy bridge” - even this name shows that the process was nearly magic), which made it possible to conduct water from a hill at a distance of 3 kilometres to the village.
The St Roch’s Wind Mill was built in the 17th Century, it was restored recently by the “Compagnons du Tour de France” and gave a kind of nutritious autonomy to the people. |
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This long history can also be read in the streets of the village, where
ancient burgesses houses with typically cross-barred windows and door frames of black lava or serpentine,
bougainvillier flowered façades lining shady
little lanes and
squares are only waiting for your footsteps to come. |
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As to the recent history : its major feature is
Port-Grimaud where the architect François Spoerry realized in 1966 a visionary and ambitious project : the marina or “lake-dwelling” city. Today Port-Grimaud is one of the most frequented places of France with its
quays of a total length of 12 km lined with gardens and
“fishermen’s houses” where boats can be moored. A real architectural contemporary success. |
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Download the information sheets on the “Discovery of the cultural & historical heritage” |
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