ABOVE: Limousin.
Guide to Limousin
Limousin
Smallest and least populous of mainland regions, north-west of the Massif Central and comprising:
Corrèze (19),
Creuse (23) and
Haute-Vienne (87).
Population: 723,000
Principal city: Limoges
Tourist board
The Limousin is the very heart of France, la France profonde, owing to its central position and its enduring tradition of peasantry.
This deeply rural region is set between the Massif Central and the Atlantic coast, enjoying mild winters and long, hot summers. It's a country of rivers, lakes and forests, but this is not the country of swish spas or glittering casinos. Limousin's gentle country glistens with water everywhere, in rivers great and small or languid lakes such as the great man-made reservoir of Vassivière.
Here in Limousin you will find some of the most beautiful villages of France, such as Collonge-la-Rouge, Curemonte, Mortemart, St-Robert, Ségur-le-Château and Treignac. There is, too, a rich Romanesque heritage evident in splendid abbeys and churches. And many reminders of the past, such as the château at Châlus, where Richard Coeur de Lion was mortally wounded. For a long time a fiefdom of England, the region was annexed to the crown of France by Henri IV in 1607.
It has never been a very wealthy region, but the porcelain production in Limoges has certainly added a certain kudos.
During the First World War unsuccessful generals were sent to Limoges, giving rise to the verb limoger meaning to demote for incompetence. During the Second World War the Nazis murdered all inhabitants of the village of Oradour-sur-Glane whose charred ruins remain as a memorial to the crime.
Corrèze (19)
Population: 238,000
Principal city: Tulle
Tourist board
The southernmost of the départements of Limousin, Corrèze passes from the sheep-farming 'mountain' territory of the massif des Monédières and the plateau de Millevaches to the truffle-rich causse and mellow sandstone villages, like the chocolate-box Collonges-la-Rouge. Such welcoming towns and villages earn this area a nickname with a decidedly tourism-driven ring to it: the "laughing doorway to the Midi". If that sounds a little contrived, it's nevertheless true to say that with la Lenga Lemouzina the langue d'oc starts here. Unsurprisingly the poetry and exploits of the Occitan troubadours are also fondly remembered here.
With fewer than 20,000 inhabitants, the capital, Tulle, is only the second largest town in Corrèze (after Brive-la-Gaillarde, with nearly 50,000 inhabitants). During the war Tulle was liberated by Résistants two days after D-Day, but the following day it was recaptured by the Nazis. Many inhabitants were subsequently arrested; 99 of them were hanged in the streets, the rest sent to forced labour camps.
Amongst the tourist sights of Corrèze: the town of Bort-les-Orgues is known for its hydroelectric power station and the huge basaltic 'organ pipes' that overlook it. The Tours de Merle, in the south-east of the département, are a remarkable, romantic medieval ruin: a string of towers, broken walls and staircases that lead nowhere. The original castle was abandoned when artillery technology meant that it could be bombarded from the surrounding hills. Also of note is the old town and abbey of Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne.
Although the Salers race of cattle is common in the Corrèze, the name 'plateau de millevaches' actually comes from the words mille batz, meaning 'a thousand sources', as many rivers rise on the granite uplands.
Creuse (23)
Population: 131,349
Principal city: Guéret
Tourist board
La Creuse is arguably the least-known French département, and the traditional image the rest of the country has of its inhabitants is one of peasantry, even poverty. Its principal town, Guéret, is actually less well known than the sous-préfecture, Aubusson, an attractive little town universally known for its tapestry workshops and galleries.
Whilst it is true that this small département is bypassed by most tourists — save those intent on visiting Aubusson — Creuse has a rural charm and innocence that neighbours like Dordogne have lost through their fame. Some particularly striking examples of medieval castles and Romanesque church architecture and are to be found in the area. . . as often as not completely unexpectedly, on a walk in the country or a cycle ride.
The bedrock is predominantly granite, a building material that lends an ancient, austere air to the architecture. The toughness of the material made skilled masons of the Creusois, and their talents were much sought after in Paris and throughout France. The curious 19th-century sculptures of François Michaud in the village of Masgot (a district of Fransèches) particularly illustrate this tradition.
The extremely palatable creusois, a cake made with ground hazelnuts, is the most celebrated speciality of the area, and was originally made by monks.
Haute-Vienne (87)
Population: 354,000
Principal city: Limoges
Tourist board
Unless you regularly dine chez Monsieur le Président, you are unlikely to have ever eaten off a hand-painted Limoges dinner service. Rumour has it that a service bought for the personal use of the chief surgeon in the Royal Saudi Arabian Hospital cost as much as an iron lung and a kidney machine put together.
The city's connection with porcelain started in 1768 when kaolin was discovered in the nearby town of St-Yrieix-la-Perche. The River Vienne was handy for floating logs down from the surrounding forest to fire the kilns, and within a few years there were 24 factories in the area.
The industry was, however, a victim of its own success: it was eventually damaged by competition from imitators in Czechoslovakia and America, leaving only the luxury market and, of course, the cachet of Limoges.
The city has many treasures, some displayed behind picturesque shop-fronts, others in full view: the granite-built cathedral, tucked away in a quiet corner of the busy city, has been called the finest true Gothic cathedral south of Bourges. And the train station is both a work of art and a monument to extravagance.
About 12 miles to the north-west of Limoges stands the martyred village of Oradour-sur-Glane, a stone Marie Celeste, and reminder of the sordid reality of war. No attempt has ever been made to disguise what happened here on June 10th, 1944, when the entire population of 642 men, women and children were slaughtered by SS soldiers, supposedly in reprisal for Resistance activities in support of the Allied invasion of Normandy. Now all but the human evidence sits intact, exactly as the marauders left it. one of the most poignant relics lies corroding in the main street: the doctor's 1940 Peugeot. Now a rusting hulk, the vehicle was abandoned by the doctor as he was dragged off to a barn and summarily shot with all the other men of the village. The church was the scene of even more carnage: here were incarcerated all the women and children, to die from bullet flame or smoke. The martyred village is open every day, admission free.