History

According to recent research, apparently an ancient village existed 350 000 years ago high on the hills of Caunes, above the old cemetery.

The village we know today came about thanks to the construction of the Abbey. Around 780 a monk founded the Caunes Abbey after having founded St Jean de Citou. The small courtyard in the centre of the roughly circular construction could have been the starting point for the whole village. The village at that time was surrounded by city walls which incorporated 6 “doors”. Parts of the walls can still be seen today.

Caunes came into its own towards the end of the 19 th century, thanks to its marble industry. At that time the village had more than 2000 inhabitants.

The abbey itself traversed a series of good and bad times, until it eventually fell into ruin. It was re-built from 1696 onwards and was classed a historic monument in 1916.

Caunes relies a lot on tourism. Its ancient streets, marble fountains, its boutique hotels and its wonderful Renaissance architecture makes it the ideal place to relax. The fact that it is deally situated between the mountains and the sea and full of excellent countryside walks and hikes, makes it a much loved destination.

There is also a rich network of local businesses in Caunes, with many independent local food businesses, schools, a crèche, a retirement home, banks, a post office etc…

Near the building there is a water source, the properties of which are said to cure fevers.

According to tradition, after one miraculous recovery, three little chapels made from dry stone were built above the water source. In the end, as word spread about the source, the actual chapel was built (richly adorned with marble from the various parts of the village).

The popularity of this type of marble has allowed Caunes to make a name for itself, as it exports its marble all across Europe. As a matter of fact, the marble used to build the Trianon, Marly and the Opera Garnier was taken from Caunes.