Historic district with a concentration of remarkable sites and buildings from all periods of history. One of the oldest districts, which has probably been inhabited since the Iron Age with the establishment of an oppidum.
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This area, steeped in history, can be considered the historic heart of La Londe, with traces of human occupation dating back to Antiquity, perhaps even as far back as the Iron Age, and its architectural heritage:
- Château des Bormettes, an agricultural bastide built between 1588 and 1642 by the Carthusian monks of La Verne, which is steeped in monastic architecture (bell tower, pediment engraved with religious symbols, large vaulted room housing the fittings of an oil mill converted into a wine storehouse). The first known wine estate in the area. Private site, open to the public on a guided tour.
- Horace Vernet's château, built around 1860 as a late-life holiday home for Louis-Philippe's official painter, enlarged and decorated by Victor Roux, a wealthy financier from Marseille and concession-holder for the Bormettes mines. The château's keep tower was built by the architect Gaudensi Allar (architect of the Musée d'Art de Toulon) and decorated with polychrome ceramic bas-reliefs on the façade by the sculptor André Allar, winner of the Grand Prix de Rome. Private site, partly accessible only on guided tours.
- Château neuf des Bormettes, a middle-class residence built in the 1890s, once owned by the Roux family. Private site, off-limits
- Former industrial railway line, now used by the Annamites footpath
- Coron-style workers' housing estate built between 1913 and 1920 to house the staff of the Schneider armaments factory. It is made up of 4 rows of similar dwellings of 3 types (semi-detached villas, houses and maisonettes in strips with a garden on one side and a courtyard on the other) as well as individual villas, built around two central squares, a village hall-theatre and a bar that are still in use, and a food cooperative. There is also a rectangular building housing the post office and telegraph, a circular building housing the electricity transformer and a water tower. A rare example of a coron in the Mediterranean, and still inhabited.
- Schneider armaments factory, set up in 1912 to manufacture torpedoes, housing a 1,000m² brick workshop with overhead travelling cranes inside, covered by a metal framework and a sheds roof. This major Eiffel-style industrial building bears witness to the importance of this economic activity until 1993. Private site, not open to the public.
- Remains of the longest chimney-tunnel of a lead smelter in Europe, built in 1897 over a length of almost 1 km on the slopes of a hill. It is the most impressive architectural reminder of La Londe's important mining activity. Built as an experiment to improve the quality of galena, it was abandoned in 1906 due to lack of profitability. Private site to which access is forbidden.
- Remains of a castrum, a medieval fortified town (probably built on a Celto-Ligurian oppidum) occupied from the mid-13th to the 14th century at the latest. One of the oldest human settlement sites in the commune, possibly the first village. The archaeological site is located on private property, to which access is forbidden.
All the sites and buildings are private, forbidden to access but externally visible from public roads, except for the castrum and the tunnel chimney.
- Château des Bormettes, an agricultural bastide built between 1588 and 1642 by the Carthusian monks of La Verne, which is steeped in monastic architecture (bell tower, pediment engraved with religious symbols, large vaulted room housing the fittings of an oil mill converted into a wine storehouse). The first known wine estate in the area. Private site, open to the public on a guided tour.
- Horace Vernet's château, built around 1860 as a late-life holiday home for Louis-Philippe's official painter, enlarged and decorated by Victor Roux, a wealthy financier from Marseille and concession-holder for the Bormettes mines. The château's keep tower was built by the architect Gaudensi Allar (architect of the Musée d'Art de Toulon) and decorated with polychrome ceramic bas-reliefs on the façade by the sculptor André Allar, winner of the Grand Prix de Rome. Private site, partly accessible only on guided tours.
- Château neuf des Bormettes, a middle-class residence built in the 1890s, once owned by the Roux family. Private site, off-limits
- Former industrial railway line, now used by the Annamites footpath
- Coron-style workers' housing estate built between 1913 and 1920 to house the staff of the Schneider armaments factory. It is made up of 4 rows of similar dwellings of 3 types (semi-detached villas, houses and maisonettes in strips with a garden on one side and a courtyard on the other) as well as individual villas, built around two central squares, a village hall-theatre and a bar that are still in use, and a food cooperative. There is also a rectangular building housing the post office and telegraph, a circular building housing the electricity transformer and a water tower. A rare example of a coron in the Mediterranean, and still inhabited.
- Schneider armaments factory, set up in 1912 to manufacture torpedoes, housing a 1,000m² brick workshop with overhead travelling cranes inside, covered by a metal framework and a sheds roof. This major Eiffel-style industrial building bears witness to the importance of this economic activity until 1993. Private site, not open to the public.
- Remains of the longest chimney-tunnel of a lead smelter in Europe, built in 1897 over a length of almost 1 km on the slopes of a hill. It is the most impressive architectural reminder of La Londe's important mining activity. Built as an experiment to improve the quality of galena, it was abandoned in 1906 due to lack of profitability. Private site to which access is forbidden.
- Remains of a castrum, a medieval fortified town (probably built on a Celto-Ligurian oppidum) occupied from the mid-13th to the 14th century at the latest. One of the oldest human settlement sites in the commune, possibly the first village. The archaeological site is located on private property, to which access is forbidden.
All the sites and buildings are private, forbidden to access but externally visible from public roads, except for the castrum and the tunnel chimney.
This area, steeped in history, can be considered the historic heart of La Londe, with traces of human occupation dating back to Antiquity, perhaps even as far back as the Iron Age, and its architectural heritage:
- Château des Bormettes, an agricultural bastide built between 1588 and 1642 by the Carthusian monks of La Verne, which is steeped in monastic architecture (bell tower, pediment engraved with religious symbols, large vaulted room housing the fittings of an oil mill converted into...
- Château des Bormettes, an agricultural bastide built between 1588 and 1642 by the Carthusian monks of La Verne, which is steeped in monastic architecture (bell tower, pediment engraved with religious symbols, large vaulted room housing the fittings of an oil mill converted into...
Openings
Openings
All year 2025 - Open everyday
Location
Location
Environment
Environment
- Town outskirts
- Village 2 km away
- View over the vineyards
