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Rocbaron has only a small "old village center" amidst a widening area of residential villas and houses. There's no vieille ville for exploring, but the communal life is active and the Office de Tourism is friendly and helpful about local history.
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Nearby: |
Besse-sur-Issole 13 km |
Brignoles 16 km |
Carnoules 12 km |
Cuers 10 km |
Forcalqueiret 5 km |
Garéoult 5 km |
Méounes-lès-Montrieux 14 km |
Pierrefeu-du-Var 15 km |
Puget-Ville 7 km |
Roquebrussanne 11 km |
Sainte Anastasie-sur-Issole 9 km |
Toulon 34 km |
Hotels near Rocbaron: |
10 km Cuers |
15 km Pierrefeu-du-Var |
16 km Brignoles |
34 km Toulon |
At the village center, beside the large parking area, is the clearly marked Médiathèque (library) that includes the Office de Tourisme. This is a good place to start your visit: get a map of the village and find out a bit about local history and nearby walks.
Just north of the Médiathèque is the Mairie (town hall). One block north of the Mairie, a street to the left, Rue Fernand Gueit, has the Epicerie Chez Tante Anélie where you can get bread and groceries.
A second short block north of the Mairie, on Rue des Faysonnes to the right, is La Terrace, the local café and restaurant.
The "commercial center" of Rocbaron is at the northwest edge of the commune, at the junction of the D81 and D43 roads. Here you'll find things like bakery, hair dressers, fruit and vegetable market, flower shop and a big supermarket.
Stone Ovens
Two ancient stone ovens are located at La Verrerie, an area just over 1 km north of Rocbaron center, to the right (east) of the D12.
A Four à Cade (cade oven) was used to produce cade oil from the cade (prickly juniper) bush. Used from the beginning of the 20th century up until the 1950's, the simple stone cade ovens produced the oil by burning the wood from the bush in the upper part of the oven and extracting the oil from the bottom part.
Cade oil has been popular for its medicinal healing properties and for beauty products. It's considered very good as an antiseptic and disinfectant, and is used in face and hair products.
Nearby is a Four à Chaux (lime kiln). This ancient oven, also from the beginning of the 19th century, was used to convert the natural chalk into lime. With the local hills full of chalk, the fours à chaux were found throughout the region.
St Sauveur Ruins
On a wooded hilltop just southeast of Rocbaron village are the "St Sauveur Ruins". A short hike up from the village visits the ruins and gives you a magnificent view across the land.
About 10 minutes up the trail are the ruins of the ancient chapel. Really just the stone walls of the old building sitting in the trees at the edge of a small clearing. Interesting, but the real ruins are another 10-15 minutes up to the peak.
At the extreme top of the hill sit the stone ruins of 12th-century Saint Sauveur Castle. Enough of the castle walls remain on the eagles-nest site to give a Medieval feeling about it. Across the hills to the northeast, the castle ruins of Forcalqueiret are clearly visible.
Written history of the castle is rather scarce. Study of the stone defenses indicates 11th century, and possibly 10th century. The story of the castle's demise is also verbal and variable. One theory is that the castle was destroyed during local wars. Another, possibly more plausible, is that the isolated site was abandoned for the newer and more accessible castle of Forcalqueiret.
Marcel JEAN's Bakery
A very nice little booklet from the Office de Tourisme tells the story of Marcel JEAN, Boulanger. This excellent baker took over the Rocbaron bakery in 1975. this master baker provided the village with excellent bread from then until sometime after 2006, when our [Photo-06] was taken.
M. Jean's passion for his work can be seen in the decoration of the shop, and the detail of the windmill iconary in the grill [Photo-08].
Today (January 2010) the old bakery has been transformed into an épicerie, but still sells bread.
History
Name
First record, 1019 De Rocabarone (probably the name of a Lord Rocca de Baron)
Prehistoric:
Remains of protohistoric walls at Tèmes (the peak 1 km east-southeast).
Gallo-Roman:
Roman tombs with headstones at the "Camps de La Caouillade et de Catèu".
Medieval:
Domain of the Viscounts of Marseille, then successively of the d'Agoult, Vins, Forbin and Villeneuve.
Office de Tourisme
Place du Souvenir Français
Tel (Mairie): 0494 728 044
Web: www.mairie-rocbaron.com
Email: rocbaron.mairie@wanadoo.fr
Transportation Rocbaron
Bus
Department 83, Var Buses
See Beyond's Bus Schedules Page 16: Var Department for downloading Var bus-lines map [Plan du Reseau] and bus-line schedules [Horaires] (link for PDF files).
Rocbaron is served by the VAR bus:
- 4408: Brignoles, Forcalqueiret, Garéoult, Rocbaron, Néoules, Méounes-lès-Montrieux, La Roquebrussanne.
Hiking
Maps:
IGN (1/25,000) #3445 OT "Cuers, Pierrefeu-du-Var, Collobrières"
The GR9 (Grande Randonnée) hiking trail passes through Rocbaron, at the eastern edge of the center.
• Northeast the GR9 goes up into the forest and follows the ridge east to Carnoules (about 10 km).
• Southwest the GR9 follows roads about 3 kms to the Col de la Bigue, a junction of roads and the trails GR9 and GR51.
A hike up to the St-Sauveur ruins southeast of the center is less than an hour, out and back, including time to explore the old sites and enjoy the magnificent view.
There are a variety of loop hikes south and east of Rocbaron, including segments of the GR9 and GR51 trails and PR (Petite Randonée) hiking trails. We drove part way out the D12 towards Puget-Ville and did a short loop hike that passed by the wonderful 12th-century Chapelle Sainte-Philomène.
Dining
La Terrasse
Café and restaurant
Location:
10 Rue des Fayssonnes (center of the old village).
Open: 7/7, 7h30 - 22h30; Sat 7h30-10h30, 18h-22h30; Sun 18h-22h30
Closed: Saturday 10h30 18h00
Tel: 0494 042 095
Lodging - Hotels
Six Gîtes and Chambres d'hôtes are available in Rocbaron; a list is available from the Office de Tourisme.
Hotels in Towns Nearby to Rocbaron
• 10 km — Cuers hotels
• 15 km — Pierrefeu-du-Var hotels
• 16 km — Brignoles hotels
• 34 km — Toulon hotels
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Photo gallery of 9 photos for Rocbaron