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Hot springAlpes-de-Haute-Provence

Sources thermales et bains romains de Gréoux-les-Bains

Gréoux-les-Bains

Dimensions
Water at 42–44 °C according to the documents read, drawn from more than 1,200 m depth
Period
1st–2nd centuries (Roman baths, according to the municipal guide); 176 (inscription to the Nymphs according to the municipal guide); 1307 (Hospitallers, according to Provence7); 1619 (rediscovery of the spring); 1752 (abbé Gravier); 1807 and 1813 (Pauline Borghèse); 1961–1962 (Chaîne thermale du Soleil); 1967–1968 (present establishment)
What stands there
Origin of the water: the municipal guide, the commune's website, the département tourist office website and Pays de Manosque say ‘drawn from more than 1,200 m’; none says whether it is a natural emergence or a borehole. Only clue: an opinion of the Académie de médecine (2001) speaks of a ‘deep borehole’ for the Désirée Clary catchment of the commune, without my being able to say that it is the water of the baths. In 1619, however, the guide says that Jacques Fontaine ‘found the spring again beside a path’: there was therefore indeed a natural hot spring. Temperature: 44 °C (guide pp. 3 and 10, commune's website, Pays de Manosque); 42 °C (guide p. 11, département tourist office, officiel-thermalisme). The inscription of 176, the relative of Marcus Aurelius (‘parente’ in the guide), the finds of the 17th and 19th centuries and the listing of 1932 rest only on the municipal guide. The CNRS (CCJ-COREA) records a limestone altar fragment, dedication to the local Nymphs, found near the former baths (hall of the hôtel La Crémaillère, rue des Thermes), without a precise date (Roman Empire): this confirms the existence of a Roman cult of the waters, not the date of 176. The château known as ‘des Templiers’ probably has this name mainly by tradition; it passed to the Hospitallers in 1307 according to Provence7 (rank 4-). 1961 (guide) or 1962 (tourist office, PACA Tourisme) for the Chaîne thermale du Soleil. EDH and CIL not legible.

At Gréoux, in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, the hot water, sulphated and rich in calcium and sodium, is drawn from more than 1,200 m depth and emerges at 42–44 °C according to the documents. The sources read do not say whether it is a natural emergence or a borehole. According to the commune's guide, the Romans frequented the site in the 1st and 2nd centuries, including a relative of the emperor Marcus Aurelius, and a basin of the 1st century survives. The same guide dates to 176 an inscription praising the waters and the goddesses ‘Nymphis Griselicis’, found in fragments in the 17th and 19th centuries and listed in 1932; the CNRS records a fragment of an altar to the local nymphs found near the former baths. The site was then forgotten. In 1619, according to the guide, Jacques Fontaine, physician to the king, followed a strong smell of sulphur to the spring and tried the water on inhabitants; Antoinette de Glandevez then leased the baths to the surgeon Jean Carlet. In 1752 abbé Gravier wanted the poor to benefit from them. Pauline Borghèse, sister of Napoléon, stayed there in 1807 and 1813. The château, known by tradition as ‘des Templiers’, passed to the Hospitallers in the 14th century. The Chaîne thermale du Soleil acquired the site in 1961–1962; in 1967–1968 the former Grand Hôtel des Bains was demolished and the present establishment was built on the site of the ancient baths.

Gréoux-les-Bains — Guide du curiste (PDF de la commune) ↗

Further reading

Getting there: Paying thermal establishment (chemin de Babaou). The 1st-century Roman pool and the ‘Roman troglodyte baths’ are reported by the sources, but their visit was not verified. Coordinates: ‘Thermes de Gréoux-les-Bains’ in OpenStreetMap; establishment built on the ancient site according to the municipal guide and PACA Tourisme. The exact emergence or catchment is not located.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

See it on the map OpenStreetMap Directions

Ambient sound

Sources thermales et bains romains de Gréoux-les-Bains
Dali987 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Nearby

In the same department

All places — Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (20).