Our heritage

Notre-Dame de l'Assomption church
Built in the 17th century from an earlier Romanesque building (Notre-Dame du Ranc) and the castle ramparts, it has a single nave extended by a three-sided apse. The bell tower is derived from one of the watchtowers on the ramparts. Two cherubs stand on either side of the archivolt, one holding a phylactery.
Inside, the nave is round-vaulted and the chancel is barrel-vaulted. The interior painted decoration probably dates from the 19th century. The apse is decorated with trompe-l'œil caissons in blue-grey monochrome; the triumphal arch is decorated with musical instruments; and the nave vault features medallions depicting saints.

Saint Blaise Chapel
This Romanesque funeral chapel, with its slate roof, is dedicated to Saint Blaise, patron saint of weavers.
This 13th-century building has walls 1.25 m wide, a semicircular apse that is lower than the nave, a rustic façade extended by a bell tower with two arcades and a limestone slab roof.
The interior is also extremely simple, with a broken barrel vault that has nothing to separate it from the bare walls that extend it. A series of apertures are arranged in the vault, serving, depending on the interpretation, as acoustic vessels to enhance the sound of the space or as drains to prevent damp.
We know that the chapel of Saint-Blaise was the burial place of the Lords of Gras.

The castrum - fortification of Gras
Long known as a "walled town", this fortified village opened onto the outside world through two gates: the Pla Monta to the west and the Porte de Rome to the north. The latter access was reinforced by high ramparts and a watchtower ("Grande Tour"), pierced by architraves, to keep watch over the surrounding area.
All that remains today is the wall on the north side, made of small to medium-sized, well-squared limestone rubble, and the Great Tower, which became the church's bell tower. Several buildings adjoining the remaining ramparts suggest the presence of a rectangular keep.

Church of Saint-Vincent
Church oriented in the shape of a Latin cross, with a false transept, a short nave of two bays with barrel vaults and a small transept.
The chevet consists of an axial apse and two oriented apsidioles, one of which is hidden by the sacristy.
Two side chapels open onto the nave and the transept arms; small bell tower with a single arcade.
The foundation of the church of Saint Vincent de Gras, mentioned in the "charta vetus", therefore predates the 10th century.
The present church is largely Romanesque. Its similar style to that of the neighbouring church of Larnas could date it back to the 12th century.
The sacristy and two side chapels were added in the 19th century.

Les Clapas
Numerous vestiges of ancient human activity can be seen on the plateau, including alignments of low drystone walls stretching for dozens of kilometres, the many carefully arranged "clapas" (stone heaps), the result of intensive collection and paving, and the huts that provided temporary shelter for shepherds. Due to a lack of archaeological material, it is difficult to pinpoint the age of the first clearings.
Huts and windbreaks
The huts, also known as "capitelles" in the Gard or "bories" in the Drôme and Vaucluse, provided temporary shelter for shepherds during sudden storms or when the north wind blew across the plateau. This architecture of necessity can be found throughout the south of France and in other Mediterranean countries. The more modest dry-stone "windbreaks" are very diverse in their construction. 126 have been recorded on the plateau. Most of them face the north wind, the famous Mistral wind that blows across the plateau.
The truncated cone towers
With their terraces at the top, these towers were used to watch over the herds and scare off the wolves. They are never more than 4 metres high. They are also used as windbreaks when the breeze sweeps across the plateau, as meeting points for social gatherings, as hideouts for hunters and even as observation posts for forest wardens on the lookout for poachers.
Dry stone walls
These well-patterned walls demarcated the plots of land. Crowned with slate roofs arranged in a herringbone pattern, they used to protect certain crops from the voracious appetite of goats that could not cross this stone obstacle.

The wash-houses
Before the advent of tap water, several washhouses in Gras were regularly used by women to beat their washing. Some have been restored: the one in Gras on the road to Lafare, the one in Gerles near Reynouards and the one between Mas de Gras and the distillery.