Aubenas Discovery Trail

Airette Belvedere

This visit can't really begin without taking in this incredible panorama. The mountains and the Ardèche valley stretch out below from the lookout point.
We overlook the lower town and its Baza canal. What we see from here as a trickle of water running through the vegetable gardens was a major and complex structure whose construction, by the monks of Mazan Abbey, dates back to the 11th century. In addition to its agricultural use, this canal is at the origin of the first grain and oil mills, then of the development of tanning and drapery.

Wool factories for cloth, then cotton factories for handkerchiefs, were then established along the Baza Canal, like the royal Goudard and Ruelle factories from 1733. Aubenas thus became a center of international trade. Wool was imported from Andalusia, cotton from America and Egypt, and dyeing products from Central America. Cloth production was exported to the Echelles du Levant, in the Middle East. Handkerchiefs were sold at European fairs and in North America. Another innovation: the royal silk factory, created at the initiative of Jacques Vaucanson and Henri Deydier in 1752. A "genius mechanic," Vaucanson chose Aubenas as the first step in a reform of the silk industry commissioned by the State. Too far ahead of its time, the factory closed at the end of the XNUMXth century before subsequently becoming a model for modern spinning.

Just as Ardèche was one of the first industrial departments in France in the 60th century, Aubenas was a major industrial area in the department thanks to spinning. This activity continued until the 70s and 10s. It fueled the development of the road network and the freight transport business in which Ardèche also distinguished itself. It took 12 to XNUMX hours for the first trucks to transport crates of yarn between Aubenas and Lyon via the Col de l'Escrinet.

Jacobins Gate and Valleton House

The Jacobin Gate is the last of the seven gates of Aubenas at the time of the ramparts. It was crossed in the 17th century by the rebels led by Antoine du Roure. This bloody peasant uprising was violently suppressed and finally put down by d'Artagnan himself at Lavilledieu.
At the very beginning of Valleton Street, a magnificent red door lined with columns is the entrance to the oldest house still visible. Valleton House belonged to a wealthy Protestant family and is now inhabited.

The Castle & the Vigilants

The castle is considered the most beautiful building of Ardèche civil architecture. Its construction began at the end of the 1985th century with the keep, but recent research suggests the existence of an older castle to the west of the current building. It was gradually transformed under the influence of its various owners (the Montlaurs, the Maubecs, the Modènes, the d'Ornanos, and the Vogüés), who, each in turn, modified it to adapt it to the developments and fashions of their time. The seat of feudal power, the castle became the seat of the Town Hall after the Revolution, a position it remained in until XNUMX.
Listed as a Historic Monument in 1943, it underwent a vast restoration campaign lasting 7 years and has been open to the public again since the summer of 2024. This brand new Contemporary Art and Heritage Center is revealed right up to the dungeon!
And on the building's esplanade, Les Vigilants watch over the city. They are three sign-characters, three talismans, three figures, two female and one male, whose shadows move with the rhythm of the sun (works by Rachid Koraïchi).

The Main Street

A common name in many French towns, it has been the widest street in the city since the Middle Ages. It descends gently from the castle towards the church and has preserved some very beautiful houses such as the former Milssoz de Ferrière mansion (7th and 16th centuries) at number 1694; the Maison Veyrenc de Lavalette at number 22 and the Maison Jacques Duclaux (XNUMX) at number XNUMX. As you pass, notice the Art Deco façade of the former Caisse d'Épargne decorated with one of the bank's first logos... Can you find it?

Saint Lawrence Church

First, the Church of Saint Dominic in the 1612th century, because legend has it that Saint Dominic himself came to Aubenas to lay the first stone. The church was destroyed during the Wars of Religion, and rebuilt in XNUMX. Inside, the woodwork dates from the XNUMXth century and the Saint Clair Chapel from the XNUMXth century (Chapel of the Martyrs), while the facade is recent (XNUMXth century).

Cocoons Square

In the 3th century, the cocoon market was the third largest cocoon market in France, after Lyon and Saint-Étienne. The name Place des Cocons preserves this memory. The appearance in 1872 of pebrine, a silkworm disease, marked the decline of sericulture throughout the south of France.
We also recommend a short detour via Rue du Quatre Septembre (which continues). At number 19 is the house of Béranger de la Tour, former consul of the city during the Wars of Religion, who played a role in negotiations with Catholic leaders in the Protestant assemblies. Observe the windows with molded stone transoms and acolad lintel.

The Delichères House

The people of Aubenas also call it "the house with the gargoyles." It's a Gothic-style building whose lantern is adorned with gargoyles carved from sandstone blackened by time. This 15th-century house was among the most architecturally rich residences in Aubenas.

The Veyrenc House

The Michel Veyrenc Hotel, located at 8 rue Jourdan, existed in the 1740th century. The rusticated door is imposing, and at the end of the courtyard, a splendid wrought iron railing (XNUMX) adorns a monumental single-story staircase. Tours are offered during Heritage Days.
In a shop window a little further down the street, a large sign tells the story of Léonce Verny. This illustrious engineer, a native of Pont-d'Aubenas, contributed greatly to the modernization of Japan, particularly the Yokosuka naval arsenal. Japanese memory still honors his memory today.

The Dome of Saint Benedict

The Dôme Saint Benoît, a former chapel of the Benedictine nuns, housed in the ruins of the castle of the first lords of Aubenas les Itiers de Géorand, is a jewel of religious architecture, listed as a Historic Monument. It is characterized by a hexagonal drum structure and an 18th-century dome in the Italian Renaissance style. Transformed into a grain hall after the French Revolution, then into municipal storage for the fire brigade, it now houses collections of religious art objects and the marble mausoleum of Marshal and Maréchale d'Ornano.

The Chapel of the Cordeliers

The Cordeliers Chapel is a former Franciscan oratory. During Heritage Days, 17th-century religious paintings and sculptures depicting the work of the Cordeliers monks can be seen there.

The Dome Gardens

These immense, roofless walls are the remains of the ancient castle of the first lords to arrive from the mountains in Aubenas in the 12th century, the Itiers de Géorand. Having fallen into ruin, it was Maréchale d'Ornano who bought the ruins to house the Benedictine nuns, who had been expelled from Lavilledieu in the early 17th century. The gardens at the center of these ruins, steeped in history, sometimes host concerts and shows in the summer.

The Goudard-Ruelle Hotel

A former 18th-century private mansion that once belonged to cotton industrialist François Goudard, later acquired by his son-in-law François Ruelle and then transformed into a post office, it housed the municipal library in the 1990s. It has recently undergone restoration and now houses the Arts and Crafts Center under the brand "Le 18A". Artists' studios have been set up, and each resident can exhibit their work in the shop, which is open to the public.

The landscaped Agora and the Jean Mathon fountain

For a long time, Aubenas was called: "The city without water." Perched on top of a hill, it could not be watered by any stream. It was in the 14th century that Mayor Jean Mathon had works carried out, titanic for the time, bringing water from a spring captured in Antraigues (23 km). On June 1863, 50, a large celebration inaugurated the 7 fountains built in the city (some are still visible today) and which, all together, began to "spit" water at XNUMX p.m., to popular jubilation. The celebrations lasted a whole month! For a long time, the Fountains Festival enlivened the city once a year. Today, the fountain and the kiosk pay tribute to the audacity and courage of Jean Mathon. This square covers the remains of the former convent of the Cordeliers, also called the Friars Minor, whose mission, among other things, was to provide funeral services for the poor.

The ancient ramparts

The two defensive turrets located in front of the church on the Boulevard Gambetta side are among the last vestiges of the ramparts destroyed in 1809.