Sights in Cogolin — 2 of Our Favourites

The tower, together with the wall that surrounded Cogolin, were the town's main defensive system protecting not only the village but also the lord's castle. Dated in the late 13th or early 14th century, the tower was one of the entrance points to the town, and included a footbridge that crossed a moat. This tower was built of basalt lava stone, a material taken from the same rock on which the village of Cogolin stands.

In the second half of the 16th century, a clock was installed at the top of this tower. A person, usually a locksmith, was appointed and paid by the community to "conduct the orologe". This fragile device was operating with a weight-cons and required regular repairs. The hours were sounded by a bell dated 1587.

During the French Revolution, this bell was saved because it was part of a public building. Thus, it was not melted to be turned into a cannon, as it commonly happened. The bell was moved to the parish church, while the clock was installed in 1930 on the town hall's façade. Thus, nowadays only the medieval tower is visible in situ.

The first mentions of the castle and the town of Grimaud date back to the 11th century. Although the castle was built at the end of the 12th century, the enclosing fortified walls and ramparts were added in the late 13th century to accommodate and protect the expanding village. It belonged to the Counts of Provence at this point in time.

In the 14th and 15th century, it first passed into the hands of the Adorne family, and then the Cossa family who converted the ground floor of the tower into a cistern. During the 17th and 18th centuries, it was enlarged adding two towers with green serpentine stone frames.

The castle was then destroyed and abandoned after the French Revolution, when the Castellane family fled to Nice. Today only one vaulted room remains more or less intact.