Did you know ? Villeneuve-Lès-Avignon has one of the most important concentrations per sq. m of historical patrimony in Europe. On your arrival at the hotel, we notice each time and chronologically, the astonishment, then the wonder and finally the pride. Your question is often the same: “But what has happened so that this village has so many historical treasures?”
It’s a secret that we are ready to share here with you. But hush, Villeneuve is a secret that we whisper in the ears of people we love!
All this is explained in 2 episodes:
Episode 1
Villeneuve-Lès-Avignon bears his name badly. Or rather it carried it well in the XIIIth century, when the King of France Philippe IV le Bel created a new city to defend the Kingdom of France against the Holy Germanic Empire, the Rhone then being the border between the 2 kingdoms. At the time, it was simple and practical: what if we called this new town, Villeneuve-Lès-Avignon (a New Town near Avignon in old French)! Time has passed, the name has remained.
A King of France rarely makes the trip for nothing: he creates the checkered village in chessboard (located just in front of the hotel), the Fort Saint-André and a Chatelet at the exit of the Pont d’Avignon (please here toll taxes!), which remains today the famous Tour Philippe-Le-Bel!
Episode 2
In 1305, the Popes arrive in Avignon. Why ? Why? Because times are hard in Rome and the Popes do not feel safe anymore. This is good, since 1274, they have new land near Avignon, Comtat Venaissin. From 1305 to 1378, seven Popes will succeed in Avignon, and with them an extraordinary court of 10,000 people.
But finally, Avignon is not so sure (Brigands, Hundred Years War, Plague), and Villeneuve, on the other side of the Rhone, is much more. This is the big move. Many cardinals cross the Rhone and join the Kingdom of France. Palace of Cardinals galore, Chartreuse of Val-de-Bénédiction (largest Chartreuse of Europe), Collegiate church, Hotel of the Coins will be born of this golden age. Let’s not be afraid to say it, Villeneuve-Lès-Avignon and Avignon become the center of the Western World.
In 2018, when you arrive in Villeneuve, it’s all this heritage that you touch for real! Ali Baba’s cave is yours. Villeneuve, open up!
