GOULT

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Goult, visit of the village

Goult is located on a hill at the Calavon valley, the village is built around a medieval wall and a castle. Goult is much discreet than the neighboring spectacular perched villages. The hill on which the village is located is large and fairly flat summit: no steep slopes on which etale the village, offering the best possible light at the sight of travelers passing along the ancient Via Domitia below in valley Calavon, the main communication route between Italy and Spain during antiquity and the Middle Ages. Goult not only shows itself since the road that climbs to the neighboring village of Lacoste on the other side of the valley.

The name originates from Goult its first lords, family Agoult, one of the most powerful family in the Middle Ages in Provence. To visit the oldest and most picturesque part of the village you have to cross the new part and move to the front of the church. We stopped soon to a medieval gate, the "south gate", behind which stands the castle, built on a bedrock salient. There is not much left of the medieval castle, the owners have turned to the 18th century in a residential home. The beautiful houses with stone facades of Goult have been bought mostly by rich foreigner sensitive to the beauty of this corner of Provence and at its discretion. They are beautifully restored and form a beautiful setting.

We reached the end of the village on the highest part exposed to winds and a platform on which stands the Jerusalem Mill, the view of the plain Calavon is splendid.

Notre-Dame-de-Lumières

The hamlet of Lumières is located in the valley at the foot of the Goult hill, at the outlet of the Limergue valley, along the main road between Apt and Avignon (RD 900). From the 17th to the 19th century it was a major place of pilgrimage in Provence.

In 1661, Anthoine Denante, a 63-year-old peasant, saw a great light on his land and in the middle of it the most beautiful child he had ever seen. He tried to take him in his arms and noticed that his stomach wound that he had been carrying for years had healed. The news of the miracle spread and attracted many pilgrims. The old chapel nearby is enlarged and rebuilt, and renamed Notre-Dame-de-Lumières. It is the seat of a popular pilgrimage until the 19th century. Many miracles are recorded, as evidenced by the many ex-votos in the church. The pilgrimage has now lost its popularity but a procession takes place every year on August 15.

The Agoult Family

The original name of the place during the early Middle Ages was Agold, Humbert (~950 - ~1010), Lord of Caseneuve, took it as patronyme, founding of the line of the Agoult Family. This family was the most important and powerful in Provence until the 16th century. It is divided and subdivided into several branches, the two main ones being the families of Simiane, born in the 12th century, and Pontévès. The coat of arms of the Agoult family is a wolf, it is present on that of the village of Goult.

Photos of Goult: slideshow

Accommodation and informations

Selection of bed and breakfast near Goult on the portal of b&b in Provence

Goult's official website goult.fr

Sights and activities:

• Picturesque Village
• San Sebastian Church
• Ramparts
• Medieval Gates
• Castle (private)
• Notre-Dame des Lumières
• Romanesque chapel Saint-Veran (outside the village)
• Conservatory cultivation terraces.
• Weekly market on Monday afternoon

Coming to Goult

GPS coordinates N 43°51'49'' - E 5°14'32''

The town of Goult is part of the Regional Park of Luberon

Location : altitude 325 metres, 1200 inhabitants, 4 miles from Lacoste, 5 miles from Roussillon, 5 miles from Ménerbes, 8 miles from Gordes, 11 miles from Apt, 24 miles from Avignon