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Tuesday, 18 March 2008 |
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A natural frontier area where
impressive châteaux and mills
punctuate forests and valleys
known to man since prehistory.
This verdant area extends from the Périgord into
the Charente and was always a frontier zone. A
little chain of hills pushing up through the forests
of Dirac and La Mothe Clédou separates the rivers
heading south to meet the mighty Garonne and
north to join the Charente. These hills also served
as a natural language barrier: until the 20th
century, Occitan was spoken on its eastern side and
French (Oil) on the other. During World War II, the
ancient boundary became the demarcation line
between free and occupied France.
A bit of a mouthful, the name of this area
originally referred to a forest and a river. The forest
of Horte to the south took its name from an
ancient château famed for its gardens; to the north,
the Tardoire flows among valleys inhabited since
prehistory. Châteaux and mills crop up regularly.
The original 15th-century fortress on the
strategically important hill of Montbron has been
magnificently restored and, in the valleys of the
Bandiat and Tardoire, a succcession of châteaux
and mills have been carefully renovated. Some mills
sell flour and walnut oil, ground or pressed in the
old way.
There are still signs of prehistoric man in the
Tardoire valley: in the caves of Vouthon and
Vilhonneur there are traces of his presence since
the Neolithic age. The museum in the cloisters of
La Rochefoucauld gives an idea of this heritage.
The magnificent castle of La Rochefoucauld,
the family seat of the Dukes of La
Rochefoucauld, overlooks the Tardoire river,
its Renaissance architecture earning it the
name of ‘Pearl of the Angoumois’. The town,
founded in the 13th century, flourished
towards the end of the Middle Ages thanks to
the saffron trade.
Interested in the history of the area? The
recently published ‘La Rochefoucauld – A Town
with a History’ is an English translation by Angela
Mckean of the French book meticulously
researched by local historian Marie Vallée. From
paleolithic man, who sheltered in the limestone
grottos in the Tardoire valley, to the Gauls who
laboured and fought here, through the religious
and feudal conflicts, the treasures and ravages of
the centuries up to the present day, it chronicles
their effects on the ordinary people who lived
here. The book, available from bookshops,
newsagents and the tourist office in La
Rochefoucauld, costs €12.
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