Les Bories
The igloo-shaped stone houses, the bories, can be found all around Gordes. They were built entirely without mortar in the 17th and 18th centuries and were used for agricultural purposes. The Village des Bories open-air museum is located 1.5 kilometres west of Gordes. Here, 20 such houses have been reconstructed and can be explored on a tour. The first house shows a film about the construction of the museum village in the 1970s. Via an outside staircase, you reach a room in which a lot has been collected about the history of the Bories. Here you will learn, among other things, where similar buildings can be found all over the world.
Landscape
It is very impressive how these uniform and monochrome stone houses form a unity with the surrounding nature. As the village is slightly higher (270 metres above sea level), you can let your gaze glide over the countryside towards the Luberon, Cavaillon and even as far as Les Alpilles if the visibility is good.
History
In the 16th and 17th centuries, areas of land in Provence were cleared for agriculture. The development of agricultural land resulted in tonnes of Burdigalian limestone, which was used to build walls, terraces and houses.
Utilisation of the houses
Some houses were used as stables, others as bakeries or wineries. There were also stone buildings in which people lived permanently. However, they were mainly used as granaries or straw stores.
The agricultural history of this area in the 18th and 19th centuries can be easily reconstructed on the basis of these huts. In addition to mulberry, almond and olive trees, the main crops were grain and wine. Sheep, bees and silkworms were also bred.
In the bories you will find lots of everyday objects from this period: pots, cutlery, bottles, furniture, tools, etc.
Master builder
In the rear area there is a construction site where children and adults can try their hand at building a dry stone wall with stones. By now you will realise what a high art we are dealing with here. It takes real experts to build complete houses that will last for centuries without using any lime or earth. To build a keel vault, the stones were laid horizontally on top of each other and sloped slightly outwards to prevent water from flowing in. Each row overlaps the one below. Finally, large, flat slabs on the ridge stabilise the construction.
How to get there
Access is not easy. You can’t reach the bories with a motorhome. However, there is a car park at the front of the D15. From here, the walk along the road between the layered walls takes about 20 minutes. Cars can drive along these narrow one-way streets to the car park at the entrance to the museum.
Opening hours
The open-air museum opens every day at 9 am and closes at 5.30 pm in winter, at 7 pm in April, May and September and until 8 pm in June, July and August.