Stage town: for the first time
Town: Town in Vaucluse (84)
Population: 13,600 (24,000 in the Rhône-Lez Provence community of communes)
Personalities: Louis Pasteur (had a house there), René Vietto (cycling), Thierry Bacconnier (football, former PSG player and U-21 international, trained at RC Bollène, died in Mornas in 2007, the Bollène stadium bears his name)
Specialities: wines from the Vaucluse vineyards. Pavé du Lez (pastry). Mistralet (pastry). Carpentras strawberries. Cavaillon melon
Economy: logistics, commerce, training. Tricastin nuclear power plant. Donzère-Mondragon dam. Donzère-Mondragon power station. Wind farm. Wine-growing. Tourism
Sport: RC Bollène. Bollène Foot. Bollène Rugby Club. Hippodrome de la Levade
Festivals: Polymusicales (summer) / Boti'ful (urban music)
Website: www.ville-bollene.fr / www.provencecoterhone-tourisme.com / www.ccrlp.fr
Bollène and cycling
Although Bollène has never hosted the Tour de France, preferring its neighbour Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux over the last fifteen years, the town is a regular on the Paris-Nice circuit, with no fewer than eight stage finishes since 1964. Given the nature of the terrain, it will come as no surprise that sprinters have excelled here, from André Darrigade (1964) to the latest winner in town, Sam Bennett (2021), not forgetting Rik van Looy (1967) and Eric Leman (1970 and 1971).
However, Bollène is linked to a legendary climber, René Vietto, who settled here at the end of his life and suffered the heart attack that was to kill him in a hospital in Orange in 1988. Second in the 1939 Tour, best climber in the 1934 edition, winner of eight stages between 1934 and 1947, King René was without doubt the most popular French rider of the 1930s and 1940s and one of the most colourful. An extraordinary storyteller with a career plagued by hard luck, he is, along with Raymond Poulidor and Raphaël Géminiani, one of the greatest "magnificent losers" in the history of the race.
Sights
Collegiate church of Saint-Martin in Bollène
Built: between 1112 and 1924
Style: Romanesque
History: the town of Bollène grew up around the hill of Le Puy, on which a priory was built. Its church was consecrated between 1112 and 1119 by Hugues de Bourgogne, archbishop of Vienne. In 1505, sculptor Nicolas de Ventuéjous created a portal to replace the one on the south side of the church. In 1515, the vaulted sacristy was built on the present site. In 1526, the brotherhood of Saint-Crépin had a chapel built next to the chapel of the Virgin. In 1562, the Protestants led by Baron des Adrets took Bollène and set fire to the church after throwing the canons from the top of the Saint Antoine tower. It was rebuilt in 1584. Chapels were added in the 17th century and a tabernacle was designed by local sculptor Philippe Mézangeau. In 1727, the church became a collegiate church served by a chapter of canons. Restoration work began between 1948 and 1950, when the choir apsidioles were restored. The most recent restoration took place between 2009 and 2014
Listed as: Historical Monument in 1909
Town Hall
Built: 1885
History and features: this imposing 19th-century town hall is in the neoclassical style. It is a copy of the Paris Town Hall. Inside, there is an imposing staircase in weathered stone and a salle des pas perdus with its wood panelling. It stands on an elegant square laid out in 1880, and the architecture of the neighbouring buildings was designed to harmonise with that of the town hall built in 1885 by Mayor Henri Reynaud de la Gardette during his term of office. The belle-époque-style covered market halls, a veritable living space, offer visitors a refreshing break on hot summer days or provide shelter from the wind and rain
Trivia: in the centre of the square, a statue of wrestlers by sculptor Félix Charpentier (1858-1924) pays tribute to Greco-Roman wrestling, a sport practised in Provence in the 19th century, but also to the town's economic activity, evoked by the miner and the Magnanarelle
Tricastin nuclear power plant
Construction: 1974 to 1980
History: construction of the Tricastin nuclear power plant began in 1974, and it was commissioned in 1980 (T1 & T2) then 1981 (T3 & T4)
Characteristics: it comprises four pressurised water reactors (PWRs), each with a capacity of 915 MW, giving the plant a total capacity of 3,660 MW. The site covers an area of 55 hectares. The plant produces around 25 TWh a year, or 6 pc of France's electricity output. The plant's operating life has been extended by ten years beyond the 40 years initially planned
Special feature: the plant organises tours
Maison Cardinale
Construction: 13th century
Style: eclectic
History: the building is thought to have been constructed in the early 13th century. The building was initially used as a watchtower for the troops of the Count of Toulouse. In 1224, Raymond VII of Toulouse set up a garrison here during his conflict with the King of France and the Count of Baux, Princes of Orange. In 1270, his daughter Jeanne de Toulouse was granted the co-ownership of Bollène in exchange for her protection of the nearby Saint-Martin priory. During the presence of the Popes in Avignon, the cardinals of the Holy See may have used the site. For nearly sixty years, five cardinals from Avignon succeeded each other at the head of the nearby Saint-Martin priory, staying in the cardinal's house. These included Philippe d'Alençon in 1375
Characteristics: the building initially comprised a ground floor room 13.37-m long and 4.20-m wide, topped by a first floor room 13.34-m long and 4.60-m wide. It is built on a rocky bench, also visible from the street. It has a slate roof. The entrance on the east side of the building features a monumental portal. The original gate was sold in 1929 by the owner at the time to a contractor from Aix-en-Provence
Listed as: Historical Monument in 2016
Ursuline Convent
Construction: 17th and 18th centuries
Style: Baroque
History: the Ursulines from Valréas founded a convent in Bollène at the beginning of the 17th century. During the French Revolution in 1792, they were expelled from the town. Some of the convent's nuns were guillotined in Orange. The building was transformed into a local hospital. The decoration of the chapel has retained its original altarpiece. It is made of carved wood and gilded, with a central painting in honour of St. Roch and St. James
Listed as: Historical Monument in 1984
Maison de la Tour and Tour des prisons
Construction: 13th to 15th centuries
Style: Medieval
History: The tower residence, referred to in ancient texts as the Maison de la Tour, together with the neighbouring tower used as a prison, formed a homogenous whole united by a transverse building until the eve of the Revolution. The characteristics of the prison tower, with its two lower vaulted rooms one above the other, connected by a manhole, the shape of its roofs and the presence of bolt holes in its facing, bear witness to its construction in the middle of the 13th century, probably as a watchtower or guardhouse, at a time when part of the lordship of Bollène was in the hands of very powerful people such as Alphonse de Poitiers and the Pope
Listed as: Historical Monument in 2015
To eat
Pavé du Lez: Pavé du Lez was created in 1993 after the famous floods in Bollène. When the River Lez flooded the bakery, it left a trail of cobblestones. François Pommier, father of the bakery's current owner, had the idea of creating a pastry speciality from these cobbles, and that's how Pavés du Lez came about. They are made from a sweet pastry base with raw almonds, covered with a macaroon pastry also with raw almonds. The final touch is a dark chocolate coating.
