Dordogne village architecture
February 15, 2009 by admin
The Dordogne region has numerous buildings that are immediately recognisable, such as Chateau Beynac or Chateau des Milandes – great impressive medieval castles standing aloft on rocky clifftops that have come to represent the region, along with the picture-postcard-pretty villages that dot the region.
But these are perhaps not the memories that you will take away with you after a vacation in the region!
Despite the popularity of the region with visitors (during the summer months) there are still numerous hamlets and villages that are easy to find yet off the tourist circuit.
It is in these places, often little more than a few houses clustered around a church, that you will find the real Dordogne.
Houses that have not yet been restored and still have their original beauty and features – half-crumbling stone staircases, shutters that haven’t seen a coat of paint for 50 years, front gardens given over to chickens and geese. A particular highlights is the magnificent local roofs tiles in ancient perigord style tiles, looking as if they won’t last the week – but actually hundreds of years old.
The kind of village where a photo will give you no clue as to whether it was taken in 1905 or 2005.
Likewise, the small village churches of the region can be far more charming than the great cathedrals – and certainly more inviting to those attending a service. There are numerous small medieval churches in the Dordogne, many in so-called Roman style, and these are perhaps what will stay in your mind rather than the grand chateaux!
Many also seem to have the remains of an ancient fort, typically with crows circling the top, and trees pushing from the walls!
If you visit the region it isn’t hard to locate these villages – just put your guidebook aside for a moment, and set off into the back lanes of the region. The track that isn’t signposted or village that isn’t a classified tourist stop is just a few kilometres away.
The pictures in this article were taken at Baneuil and Cause-de-Clerans – both are sleepy hamlets built around ancient donjons (fortified towers) a little way north-west of Lalinde and Couze-et-St-Front (just north of the Dordogne River, about 20km east of Bergerac).
