Symbol of the writer Alphonse Daudet and his work, the Moulin is open to visitors in Fontvielle. Recently renovated, it has a very nice Museum showing works and memories of Alphonse Daudet in its basement.
Its real name was in fact "Ribet" but it was also baptised "Saint Pierre".
It was built in 1815 and continued grinding during a whole century.
During the 1st World War most men were drafted and the wheat was requisitioned. These events condemned definitively our last windmill.
In 1935 the association "Alphonse Daudet's friend" decided to restore it and create a museum dedicated to the author of the "Letters of my Windmill". This building became the symbol of the writer and his work.
The Château de Montauban, celebrated in the preface to "Lettres de mon Moulin", was the writer's peaceful and restful vacation spot. The Alphonse Daudet Museum has been moved there with the author's works and souvenirs (previously exhibited in the museum part of the windmill), as well as the exhibition "Fontvieille en Histoires" putting on show the painter Léo Lelée, the Arlésienne costume and the traditionally crafted santons of Provence.
A family-oriented, 30-minute trail leads you from the tourist office to the Château de Montauban and a 1-hour trail leaving from the Château will take you to Alphonse Daudet's beloved windmills. Marked and punctuated with informative signs, the trail lets you see four mills, illustrations of a whole heritage and souvenirs of a bygone profession.
Château de Montauban - Chemin Montauban - 13990 Fontvieille
+33 (0)4 90 54 67 49
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