300 YEARS at CHÂTEAU DU JONQUIER
Soyez les bienvenus! The Château du Jonquier is a bijou of a baroque beauty situated at the foot of the Mount Ventoux:
In 2025, the house celebrates its 300th birthday.
Time for some TLC: from mid-June onwards you'll enjoy modern, high-end contemporary comfort in ancient walls. Chateau du Jonquier has 5 Hectares of private, enclosed park: an historic forest and the vast English Garden. It is part of a medieval village, which has an enchanting old town that surprises with winding lanes and delightful little squares. Mazan also offers plenty more accommodation and a lively Saturday market in the heart of the 'Provence Verte'. Set your senses free to discover the Provence.
THINGS TO DO
- 10 min drive to Venasques and Pernes-Les-Fontaines, (voted among the most beautiful villages in France)
- 25 min drive to Avignon, (site of the famous Pont leading half across the Rhone river and the medieval Palais des Papes)
- 25 min drive to Isle sur la Sorgue, (buzzing, beautiful center of the French antiques trade)
- 25 min drive to the vineyards of Chateauneuf du Pape (world-famous wines, if the delicious, fresh and earthy local vintage of our Mont Ventoux wines are not enough...)
- 30 Minutes to the mythical hilltop villages of Gordes, Roussillon and Ménerbes (the setting of the bestseller 'A year in Provence').
- 60 minutes to beautiful beaches on the Mediterranean seas (just fine for a day's splash in the waves!)
GETTING THERE AND AWAY
- 60 min drive from Marseille Provence airport for international flights
- 7 min drive from the airfield Edgar Soumille for private jets
A HOUSE WITH HISTORY
The Chateau du Jonquier has quite some stories to tell...
The Chateau was built between 1725 and 1744 by François II Bernard de Saint-Andéol and his wife Marie Roman, wealthy land-owners, who according to the land register of 1650, owned a barn at Jonquier as well as approximately 14.5 ha of land: 1 ha of meadows and gardens, 4 ha of orchards and 1.5 ha of vines (valued at 3,118 florins). François II loved having a good time: he also launched the famous "Càrri" of Mazan, a folkloric event that continues in a 10-yearly cycle to this day. The architect who created the house's balanced look is unknown.
Francis II’s son, Joseph Bernard married Marie-Delphine Geneviève de Raffelis de Soissans in 1749. A document from 1762 states: "The Lord de Saint-Andéol plays a leading role in the Commune...it is at his house that the official figures stay". Perhaps he entertained a bit too much: On the eve of the French Revolution in 1789, the family had sold most of their land and houses. Only 4.5 ha remained; an orchard, but no more vines.
In 1802 Château du Jonquier was sold to Jacques de Vincent de Causans, a Deputy of Vaucluse, who kept it for only 6 years. In 1808, Count François Marie-Joseph de Paule de Sobirats, a writer of Fables and his wife Emilienne de Damas du Rousset became the proprietaires. Their two coat of arms remain visible on the balcony's balustrade: "Non te negabo " (I will not refuse you), and "fortis et fidelis " (forceful and faithful). They also built the intimate chapel dedicated to Saint Andéol, the patron saint of the region. It was consecrated by the Archbishop of Avignon on May 3, 1836.
Count François died childless in 1859, and left the house to his great-nephew, Gustave de Ripert-Barret, a cavalry officer, and his three daughters Marie-Thérèse, Cécile and Françoise. The latter married Ernest Quarré de Verneuil, 35, Captain of Artillery, in absence of the groom due to illness. The couple divided their time between Jonquier and Château d'Allemagne. On the castle façade their coat of arms remains: a unicorn and a lion roaring: "Robur (Strength): Make way, make way for Madame.”
By 1879 and throughout WW1, Thérèse and Cécile, a nun, lived at the chateau. In 1921, a widowed Françoise joined her sisters at her former home. (which, in some legal documents, is named as 'Château de Barret'). In 1929 they sold their childhood home to Marquis Helen des Isnards. The notary commented: "The castle is in a deplorable state, the farm buildings dilapidated, the land neglected for about twenty years".
With impeccable timing Marquis des Isnards sold the castle to the sea Captain Pierre Bernusset in 1939, who was soon otherwise engaged. During WWII, the Chateau became a home for deaf-mute and blind girls and the nuns, who cared for them.
After WWII, the chateau was bought by Mr. Rollin-Pinin (a car parts manufacturer from Marseille), who sold it in 1976 to the Westphal family, who were prominent French protestants.
In 2025 – 300 years after construction began – Ellen and Tobias Alpsten bought Château du Jonquier and 4.5 ha of surrounding land. Together with their three sons Linus (21), Caspar (19) and Gustav (15) they plan to turn the estate into “the most beautiful house in Provence”.
