Discover Ventadour

4 points of interest

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  Heritage site

  The charcoal burners

  Once past the bridge, some remains bear witness to the epic of the Charbonniers, the charcoal burners, in the gorges of the Luzège. We can distinguish the ruins of a charcoal burners' hut (4 m long by 2 m wide) and below it two charcoal platforms. There are also traces of a water supply channel that facilitated life in the cabin and the charcoal burning work, particularly to extinguish embers during the collection of the charcoal and its bagging. (Romain Rouaud 2013)

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  Heritage site

  The Chateau of Ventadour

  In the 11th-century, a fortified town was built on this rocky spur by Ebles I, the first Viscount of Ventadour. During the 100 Years' War, the castle, reputed to be impregnable, was taken by the cunning and occupied by the bothersome Geoffroy Tête Noire and his band of robbers. It was not until 1390 that the Counts of Ventadour regained possession of their castle, which was ransacked and torn apart during the Revolution. Ruins of austere beauty remain, overlooking steep ravines at an altitude of 500 m.

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  History

  Ventadour, the cradle of the troubadours

  In the 12th century, the Ventadour site was a real literary and artistic centre. It was here that the lord, Elbe II, tired of the wars, favoured the art of the troubadour and in particular "the ultimate love, courtly love" by inviting poets and singers to his castle to compete in poetic contests. In the 12th century, the region had four of the ten most famous troubadours. In less than a century, the whole of Europe adopted this new art of love, of which Ventadour became the centre.

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  Heritage site

  Eglise du Moustier

  Saint-Pierre du Moustier church is the former chapel of a Benedictine monastery founded under the obedience of Cluny by the Viscount Ebles II of Ventadour at the beginning of the 12th century. His father, Ebles I, became a monk at Saint-Martin de Tulle in 1096, and the monastery was established between that date and the arrival of the first prior, Philippe, mentioned in 1116. The 12th-century Romanesque church, rebuilt around 1494, received a bell-tower porch around 1585 during the reign of Gilbert de Lévis de Ventadour.