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The majestic
Dordogne River delineates the southern edge of the region, its
tributary, the Isle,
flows to the North while the Lidoire runs through the middle.
This is a land steeped in history; Montaigne’s Tower, the
haughty ruins of Gurson, Romanesque and Gothic churches, and
the many villages along the way all deserve the same attention
as the museums of Montcaret, Port St Foy and Villefranche de
Lonchat.
Not forgetting, of course, essential gourmet breaks for
tasting the region’s specialities and excellent co-operative
and independently-produced wines, and the local restaurants
and accommodation available.
The Pays de Montaigne - Gurson - La Force is made up of 3 cantons -
Vélines, La Force and Villefranche de Lonchat - which between them count
33 communes.
Canton of Vélines
Bonneville and St Avit
de Fumadieres
The commune stretches over a vine-planted plateau and the
cultivated Calendreaud and Fonguillane valleys ; it is
delineated by the Lidoire and Estrop rivers.
The commune is dotted with small, historically important
buildings and places of interest : wash-houses, sources, wells,
bread-ovens, dovecotes, St Jean de Bonneville Church, an old
tile factory at St Avit and a bridge at Calendreaud. It is
worth noting that the king’s smithies, or forges, once stood
at Grosse Forge and that Pierre Loti stayed at Château du
Valladoux.
Fougueyrolles
Lamothe-Montravel
Montazeau
Montcaret
Nastringues
Nastringues is situated on a 1000-year old site which has been
called successively Mararengas, Nastrigensis in the 13th
century, Vacarengas in the 14th and finally Nastringues. A
Romanesque church built at the end of the 12th century still
exists although it was destroyed and rebuilt at various stages
during the Hundred Years War, the Wars of Religion and the
Revolution. The church has been recently renovated thus
finally doing justice to its Romanesque architecture. Not far
from the church at Beauséjour is the former château of one of
Montaigne’s brothers.
St Antoine de Breuilh
The commune was created in 1825 when the villages of St Aulaye
and Breuilh joined together. Nothing remains of the Antonins
Commandery which bequeathed its name to the village. Léonce
Faure, the agricultural engineer, comes from St Antoine de
Breuilh.
The village has an old port with a typical quayside and
river-front houses.
The moat and fortifications of the 15th and 18th century
Château de St Aulaye still exist.
A Madonna set in a wall keeps guard over the Dordogne and the
boatmen asked for her protection while they were on the river.
St Michel de Montaigne
St Seurin des Prats
A bridge at St Seurin des Prats, on the right bank of the
Dordogne River, links the Vélines region to the area known as
“Entre Deux Mers” and has, consequently, always been a
thoroughfare.
Remains of docks and tow paths tell the story of the
Dordogne’s navigable and commercial past ; horse-drawn barges
came up river laden with barrels of a wine which, even at the
time, was reputed.
Three chateaux testify to a rich architectural past :
• Château de Pitray : 18th century seat of the Ségur family.
• Château de Montvert : the period of Louis XIV. Also boasts a
magnificent dovecote raised on pillars.
• Château des Prats :18th century and the most impressive of
the three. Set in huge, beautiful grounds bordered by the
river. Monumental, neo-classical front steps. The
Mansard-roofed stables date from an earlier period than the
château itself.
The wall-belfry parish church, set a little way out of the
village, underwent renovation work in 1860.
St Vivien
St Vivien was the name of a 5th century bishop from the town
of Saintes.
The small wine-growing village with its own wine co-operative
is situated on a plateau between the Estrop and Lidoire
rivers. The commune has a population of 256.
The village is partially built on the site of a Merovingian
necropolis.
Vélines
Canton of Villefranche
de Lonchat
Carsac de Gurson
The ruined fortress of Gurson :
A look-out post since medieval times, the Gurson mound
remained strategically important and a castle was built on it
in the 11th or early 12th century. The English won control of
it in 1254 and, rebuilt in the 14th century and surrounded by
fortifications, it remained in the hands of the King of
England, Duke of Aquitaine for two centuries. In 1278 it was
given by the English king to his devoted servant, Jean de
Grailly, one of the finest seneschals of Aquitaine. The
Château de Gurson was inhabited in till the middle of the 17th
century but once abandoned it fell rapidly to ruin and became
an inexhaustible stone quarry for local farmers, seigneurs and
people from round about. It fell into ruin long before the
Revolution.
Minzac
Montpeyroux
Moulin Neuf
St Géraud de Corps
Palaeolithic arrow heads, sharpened flints and scrapers
indicate that the site of St Géraud de Corps has long been
inhabited by man.
The small commune situated on a plateau is traversed from East
to West by the narrow Tort valley and is bordered to the south
by the Lidoire River.
The commune has a surface area of 1495 hectares, a third of
which is covered with the Landais forest.
The 19th century parish church houses a listed 18th century
retable and a statue of the Virgin Mary which is likewise
listed.
Its sites of historical interest, attractive landscapes and
temperate climate add up to make the commune a haven of peace
and gentle living.
St Martin de Gurson
St Méard de Gurson
St Rémy sur Lidoire
Villefranche de Lonchat
CANTON OF
LA FORCE
Bosset
Ginestet
Le Fleix
La Force
Fraisse
Les Lèches
Lunas
Monfaucon
Prigonrieux
St Georges de Blancaneix
St Géry
St Pierre d’Eyraud
Text translated by Pays du Grand Bergeracois (professional translator).
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