Saint-Jurs

Overview

A commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (04), in the north-east of the Valensole plateau, at the edge of the Verdon area. It has been part of Provence-Alpes Agglomération since 2017. Postal code 04410.

Where to stay in Saint-Jurs

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What to see, what to do

Parish church of Saint-Georges

The church that dominates the village. Its choir is built beneath a mid-12th-century dome, re-vaulted in the 14th century; the nave is of later construction. Relics attributed to Saint Nicaise and Saint Restitut are said to have been discovered here in 1640 during building works. Some sources note a decorative peculiarity: a vault painted not with stars but with bees.

Chapel of Saint-Georges (cemetery)

The cemetery chapel, dating back to the 12th century: a nave of three bays covered by a false barrel vault (reworked in the 18th century) and an apse with a half-dome (cul-de-four) vault. It was restored in 1978 and again in 1989.

Castle of Allès (or Alès)

A 16th- and 17th-century building, now converted into a working farm, one of the commune's notable monuments.

Site of the old village of Alès

The ruins of a medieval village (Alès) and an old castle, witnesses to the area's former hilltop settlement.

Gallo-Roman remains

A Gallo-Roman cemetery has been uncovered in the area, attesting to early occupation.

Panorama over the Valensole plateau

The natural belvedere of the highest village on the plateau, offering a sweeping view over the fields of lavender and cereals; a very popular spot for photographing the summer bloom (late June to July).

Col de Saint-Jurs and the Montdenier forest

Waymarked trails through the forest up to the Col de Saint-Jurs (approx. 1,318 m), with views over the plateau; the wooded setting of the Montdenier massif is well suited to hiking.

Former gypsum quarries

Traces of former gypsum workings, evoking a local industrial past.

History of Saint-Jurs

The village's name first appears in 1096 as castrum Sancti Georgii, from the name of Saint George in its Occitan form; it is recorded again in 1259 (Sanctus Georgius). From the 14th century until the Revolution, the barony belonged to the powerful Castellane family. The place was shaped by monasticism: a provostry of the monastery of Sorps was established here, and the last canons took refuge here in 1433, before the community was suppressed in 1499. Like much of Haute-Provence, the commune suffered a profound demographic crisis at the end of the Middle Ages, losing on the order of 90% of its population between 1315 and 1471. During the Revolution, the commune was renamed Bellevue following the decree of the Convention of 25 Vendémiaire Year II (16 October 1793). In 1851, the population rose up against Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte's coup d'état: eighteen inhabitants were brought before the mixed commission, most of them sentenced to deportation to Algeria. The village acquired a boys' primary school in 1863, then a new school in 1885. The population, which exceeded 560 inhabitants in 1831, fell to fewer than a hundred in the 1970s before rising slightly again (around 140 inhabitants in the early 2020s).

Events & highlights

Chute de Rock — First weekend of August

A concert / musical gathering held just below the village.