Murs is a small Provence village: around 400 people live here. Murs is renown amongst Provence hikers as many marked trails stem from or pass through it. Not far from it you’ll find the Senanque Abbey for example (and its lavender fields). The village itself can be visited within an hour. As you’ll walk through some of its history will slowly unfold: the unique looking city hall, its church, a castle, the house of brave knight… Big and smaller crosses ponctuate Murs: I don’t know their name or meaning, but felt like they were worth being mentioned here. Finally, you can’t leave without paying a visit to the most outstanding tree around: a multi-centennial oak tree standing strong and tall, and unfolding his elegant branches high above a wide meadow.
- Metal cross (South)
- Jubilee & dry stone hut
- City hall & school
- Rampart cross
- Crillon-The-Brave’s birthplace
- Church
- Castle
- Metal cross (West)
- Wash house & fountain
- Stone cross
- Outstanding tree
- Park
This map is available in PDF format here. There’s another map, that’ll give you an even closer look at the village.
Metal cross (South)
The first thing you’ll notice, if you arrive by the South side of Murs, is a small metal cross (on your left)
Murs is punctuated with a few crosses. I’ve included 4 of them in this walking tour.
Jubilee & dry stone hut
A jubilee ,dated August 15th 1980, is an oratoray and represents the Virgin Mary. The inscription reads: “Bello reino d’amound’aut benesli li prouvençau (15.8.1980)”
I collected this information from this website (in French)
There’s a “borie” next to it (not pictured here) which is an actual hut made of dry stones.
City hall & school
The city hall is just beautiful. This typical building made of dry stone has been well preserved. In the same building, you’ll find the city hall and the local school.
Also, I enjoyed the old looking clocks hung on either side of the front.
Rampart cross
I stumbled upon this beautiful occitan stone cross on my way up to the church. It was erected on a section of the rampart wall.
Crillon-The-Brave’s birthplace
Crillon-Le-Brave was a knight close to Henri IV who was the King of France Henri IV during the 16th century. Crillon-Le-Brave was born in this house (which is adjoined to the church of Murs)
Church
Next to it, you’ll find the village’s church. It’s of roman style and is dated of the 12th century.
Castle
The castle was built during the 12th century. You can look at it from 3 different angles (indicated by the number 7 on the map) :
- South: when you’re at the church, you can look through the tall gate into the castle’s garden;
- East: when you’re at the main gates, you can see from afar the castle and its tall towers;
- North : when you arrive at the northern angle of the property you can have one final look at the building.
Metal cross (West)
Once you’ve past the castle and its gardens, you’ll follow a trail leading South towards another cross. It’s made of metal and it’s bigger than the very first one we’ve come accross.
Wash house & fountain
This wash house (and its fountain) are located at the western entrance of the village. I’m always impressed to see how well preserved some of the sites are, and this one is.
Stone cross
Another stone cross. This time it was set up in the corner of a house (Old Forge Street)
Outstanding tree
This oak tree is famous in the area. All local hikers know it. It seems to be multi-centennial judging by the size of its trunk and length of its branches.
The tree is located outside of the village itself (South-West) by a wide meadow (no 11 on the map).
Park
Last but not least, the large park is really enjoyable and offers a nice break before you leave. You’ll discover an old fountain (not operating today) there. The tall trees and stone benches will be much appreciated on hot and sunny days. There’s also a playground.
This 2nd map gives a closer look at the village and is available in PDF format here.