Village of Tanaron

Tanaron in the Middle Ages is a castrum, a fortified village. It is a lordship of the counts of Provence, of which Raimon Bérenger, the last of the name, donated to the bishops of Digne in the 13th century. They built the Saint Laurent church and the castle there, a summer residence where they stayed until the Revolution.

In the 17th century the humanist scientist and philosopher Pierre Gassendi, disciple of Galileo and Copernicus, stayed there frequently. He secretly makes observations from the top of the rock that will allow him to draw the first map of the moon.
The town then has 400 inhabitants and is the largest in the valley.
Plague and dragonnades prevail. The exodus of the Tanaronese begins.

At the end of the 19th century Tanaron had only 200 inhabitants. The great storms of 1910, by diverting the sources, and the war of 14, by removing the men, contribute to desertification in all its forms. The school closed in 1930.

At the start of the Second World War, only one resident remained. At the initiative of a couple from the village, the abandoned houses hide local Jewish families and young people, some of whose parents will be killed in Auschwitz.

1947: Félicie, the last resident goes to join her children in Marseille. There remains only a ghost village whose houses are looted.

1966: The mayor, Joachim Magaud, puts the village up for sale. It is bought by a group of young Aixois on the promise to rebuild Tanaron on its foundations and to make it a village of peace. Their association became a member of COTRAVAUX then joined ETUDES et CHANTIERS.
International projects are starting: young people from all over France and Europe, the United States and eastern countries meet there around a small group of architecture students from Marseille who are developing plans and models of an international youth center.
But the group of origin gradually dispersed to the four corners of France or the world due to studies or military service, most often in cooperation. Tanaron, Lambert, Ainac and La Robine merge in 1973 to become the commune of Robine sur Galabre.

1995: The youngest of the former Aix group, is elected deputy mayor of Robine sur Galabre in charge of Tanaron. He has not abandoned the old dream of seeing the village come alive. The track is rehabilitated and electricity arrives to celebrate the year 2000.

2005: The Tanaron association is created. The international youth work sites are restarting with the primary objective of thoroughly cleaning the village, then clearing the ruins of the church.

Studies of architecture and town planning, water distribution and sanitation are carried out by students from Montpellier at the end of their cycle.
The association becomes a member of Union REMPART.
Workshops are organized on the church, the future heart of the Gassendi cultural space and on the small heritage around the paths, including the retaining walls.

The association is also developing studies and actions for economic revitalization through the cultural route and hiking tourism.