Their story.
The Mairie du Luc-en-Provence, formerly known as the "Maison des Andracs", is a building steeped in history and mystery. Attentive visitors will be able to spot an "A" engraved on its facade, a vestige of its past linked to the Andracs family.
This mansion was built in the first half of the 19th century by the Andracs family, whose fascinating history dates back to the fall of the First Empire in July 1815. The family's ancestor, Charles Truc, owned a coaching inn on rue de la République, where a mysterious episode involving Marshal of the Empire Guillaume Brune took place.
According to local legend, Marshal Brune, fleeing political unrest, took refuge in this coaching inn. He is said to have left a trunk containing his wealth before setting off for Paris. Unfortunately, the marshal never recovered his property, as he was assassinated in Avignon shortly afterwards.
The rest of the story remains shrouded in mystery. It is rumored that this trunk was used to enrich the Andracs family throughout the 19th century. The village elders sometimes recounted that Charles Truc knew not only the contents of the trunk, but also the identity of the perpetrators of the attempt on the Marshal's life. However, he never revealed the existence of this treasure to the soldier's widow.
The family's last descendant, Octave Andracs, died in 1902. On his death, he bequeathed all his family's possessions to the Institut Pasteur, including this building with its magnificent garden. In 1976, the property was converted into the Hôtel de Ville, becoming today's Mairie du Luc-en-Provence.
An interesting historical fact: in 1889, to commemorate the centenary of the French Revolution, the municipality erected a 5.20-meter-high cast-iron column on the square in front of the house of M. Ginesy, a known royalist, topped by a "compressed" statue that cost 800 francs. This statue of Liberty was destroyed by an unfortunate blow from a backhoe that had come to stock up on cigarettes! Surely the most expensive pack of cigarettes in the world!
Today, the former Maison des Andracs, now the Town Hall, continues to fascinate residents and visitors to Le Luc-en-Provence. It remains a silent witness to that tumultuous era in French history, blending the destiny of a marshal of the empire with that of a local family, and marking the passage of time to its current role at the heart of municipal life.
