Le parcours découverte de Lauris
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ENGLISH🇬🇧
Panel 7 The miracle of the clock
The bell tower of Lauris is remarkable. It was forged in 1857 from the design of an Aptésian architect, Monsieur Sollier, inspired, it is said, by an umbelliferous plant that curled up during a very dry summer. As with all the campaniles in Provence - from the Provençal gabis (cages) - its shape is designed to protect it from the effects of the mistral. The sound of its bell punctuates the life of the village.
During the Great War, the old clock stopped. The winter of 1919 was going to be difficult, money was cruelly lacking and there was still no clock to comfort the Laurisians on Christmas Eve. It is said that, one cold morning, the elders who used to meet under the bells saw some strangers arrive from Montpellier arrive. These gentlemen took it upon themselves to take down the clock and replace it with another one, just as beautiful. The people of Lauris did not understand what was happening; even those who went to church no longer knew which saint to pray. Was it a miracle? The mayor knew. It was a Laurisian parishioner who had not hesitated to pay 2,000 francs, at the time a real fortune, to make this beautiful gift to her village. Everyone in Lauris was able to hear and appreciate the familiar sound of the clock on that Christmas night and on many other nights.