The building:
Ripert Castle is located on the summit of the ancient Valleriacum, a molasse hill overlooking the basin. On this hill, tiny but very real remains from the prehistoric era, unearthed during excavations in 1995, bear witness to the settlement of humans in Valréas in very ancient times (visit the ASPAER archaeological rooms). Built around the beginning of the 12th century by the co-lords of Valréas, Raymond de Mévouillon, Hugues d'Allan, Ripert de Valréas (who gave his name to the building), Bertrand de Taulignan, Dô de Chamaret, and Pons de Guintrand (charter of 1117), it later belonged to the Montauban family, who settled around Valréas in the 12th century. The castrum subsequently belonged to the Marquisate of Toulouse, then through various successions and purchases, it passed from the Papacy to the Dauphin in 1294. In 1317, Pope John XXII regained possession of Valréas and its territory until 1792.
The Keep:
The Valréassiens' "Clock Tower" is actually the keep of Ripert Castle. It was listed as a Historic Monument on November 14, 2024.
It is a square tower, 17 meters high and approximately 7 meters on each side, offering a 360-degree view. The walls are 2 meters thick. It is built with carefully cut limestone.
It has three floors and a terrace on which an aedicule has been erected and houses the clock bell: the "charansole." The first two floors had floors supported by beams whose bolt holes are visible inside the walls. The top floor, however, features a beautiful Romanesque semicircular vault supported by the east and west walls.
The various blocked openings are probably access points to staircases embedded in the thickness of the walls. Access to the various floors was via wooden stairs or ladders. Note that the current staircase and access door date from 1679 and were built after the destruction of the exterior staircase, traces of which are visible on the east facade, to facilitate access to the terrace that housed the clock in 1458. A careful study of the architecture has made it possible to precisely date the building: it is in the Romanesque tradition, from the late 12th century, early 13th century. However, there have been several renovations over the centuries, visible from the exterior, and the external facings have been consolidated and restored towards the top. The battlements are more recent. The basement of the tower served as a prison under the Popes, until the Revolution (study of the numerous stone engravings).
The Wall – The Ramparts:
The polygonal wall constitutes the visible remains of the ramparts of the upper castle (castrum) of Valréas. The access gate (postern) now only contains the western pillar and the base of the arch, which still bears traces of the passage of the portcullis. It has nine sides of unequal lengths, most of which are still in place.
The height of the walls varies from 5.50 to 8.50 meters (the original height is unknown). The thickness is 1.50 to 2 meters. Built of finely cut stone, it is reinforced at its base with buttresses visible from the White Penitents' Gardens (archaeological excavations 1995). On the site of the current water tower, a fairly large room once stood, as evidenced by the two very thick wall extensions that are harped perpendicularly on the rampart on the north side. The castle, like all those of the 12th and 13th centuries, must have included wooden rooms attached to the walls and the tower that served as common rooms, weapons rooms, attics, kitchens, etc. On the west side, the arch extensions in the corners were surely the support for upper rooms made of stone or wood. These two arches were harped on the wall of the southwest rampart.