La Martre

Overview

commune

Landscape and nature

A high-altitude valley dominated by meadows and forest. The Puy de La Martre and the Plan d'Anelle are outstanding natural and geological sites. The commune lies within the protection perimeter of the Haute-Provence Geological Nature Reserve.

Where to stay in La Martre

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Services & shops in La Martre

EV charging — in the village: LA MARTRE (2 points), network ELECTRIC 55 CHARGING. See the map of Verdon charging points →

What to see, what to do

Parish church

The village church is dedicated to Saint Jean-Baptiste and belongs to the parish of Comps-sur-Artuby. Some tourist sources also give its dedication as the Purification.

Chapel of Saint-Blaise

An old chapel (with origins in the 11th century) attached to one of the medieval castral settlements of the area.

Chapel of Saint-Joseph du Plan d'Anelle

The chapel of the hamlet of Plan d'Anelle, with a bell of 1664.

Madame bridge (Serre bridge)

A stone bridge of 1735 spanning the Artuby, often called a Roman bridge in local tradition.

Château de Taulane

A residence in Louis XVI style built in 1769 by Louis-Auguste de Lyle de Taulanne (1716-1795), grand master of the chiourme — the convict population of the Toulon bagne — who had it built by the convicts in his charge; today a hotel resort with a golf course, on the Route Napoléon.

Puy de La Martre

A hill renowned for its wealth of fossils (ammonites, belemnites), within the protection perimeter of the Haute-Provence Geological Nature Reserve.

Plan d'Anelle

A site of major ecological interest, notable in particular for the presence of the silver birch (Betula pendula).

Artuby valley

A small valley covered with meadows and woodland (about 3.6 km²), crossed by the Artuby; it preserves an old water-management heritage (an irrigation channel of 1755, a wash house and fountain of 1842, a former mill, a lime kiln and a sawmill).

History of La Martre

The place name is thought to evoke the burial place of a martyr, more probably in this case a female martyr. The area held three medieval castral settlements: Pierrelongue (12th century), Saint-Blaise and La Martre (13th century). In 1342 the community was attached to the viguerie of Castellane. In the 20th century the commune was marked by the figure of Abbé Jules Chaperon (1877-1951), parish priest of the village from 1902. With his cousin Émilie Morel he founded there in 1903 the Notre Montagne orphanage, officially opened on 1 April 1913. In December 1913 he had the tourist board of the upper valleys of the Artuby and the Jabron adopt a resolution that the great Alpine road should be called the Route Napoléon — the name the road received when it was inaugurated in July 1932. An army chaplain during the Cilicia campaign and then with the French occupation corps in Constantinople, he founded the Saint-Joseph orphanage there in 1922 and the following year brought Armenian orphans, survivors of the genocide, to Notre Montagne.

Events & highlights

Forest festival (Fête dau Bòsc) — according to the communal calendar

A village festival celebrating the forest and local heritage.

Book and comics festival — June

The village's annual literary gathering.

Patronal feast of Sainte-Marthe — summer

The traditional patronal feast.