Perigueux and Chateau de Hautefort

Gentle Friends, there are some lovely villages and towns in Perigord, and another town that we got to visit is called Perigueux (said like this "perryjew").   The name Perigueux comes from Petrocorii, a Latinization of the Celtic words meaning "the four tribes."  Although the town is lovely what you really come here to see the Cathedral of Saint-Front......

... looking at the cathedral from the bridge...

... I turned an took this snap from the bridge facing up river...

... that truck sat there and sat there, so the front of Saint-Front has a white truck.....

... the great bell tower.....

... the nave of the church.  Begun in the 11th century, and restored in the 19th century - it has been an historical site since tehe1840's.  The domes and turrets were added during the restoration.

..

on of the many large carved pieces in the many chaples, this one shows the assumption of the virgin..

... some of the stained glass windows, the one below shows Saint-Front holding the floor plan of the Cathedral

...here is a Saint Michael and Dragon at Saint-Front....

... the lovely cloisters were getting a major overhaul so they were closed to the public.....  :(

... this is the back side we left through (you can just see the top of the door lower left) and the two low towers are from the oldest remaining parts of the Cathedral........  from here we walked around town and settled on some lunch....

... we ate in a great outside brasserie, and I had this grilled cheese and egg salad..

... the funny thing when I ordered this i wasn;t too sure what  "Cabecou" was... so i took a chance ( you know how I love to live ont he edge!!)  well, I was pleasntly surpised when it came out and it was cerrtainly delicious!!  Here's a little info about the cheese......"Cabecou Feuille, a small disc of fresh goat cheese from the Perigord region of France, is dipped in plum brandy and sprinkled with coarse black pepper before being wrapped in two chestnut leaves to mature. Cabecou is smooth and creamy with aromatic brandy flavors and a tangy bite."

this was our view during lunch, lots of historic houses.......like this great house on the square......

..... here's a close up of the door frame and in the background you can just see the tables we had just gotten up from.....

..... there were lots of super door knockers around town,
and this one was just top notch, all painted up ......

___________________________

Later that day we drove to the Chateau de Hautefort.

...... situated on an outcropping of limestone, it is a really impressive place.....  the architecture is not typical of the Dordogne Valley - more in keeping with the Chateau of the Loire......

.....  at the ticket booth they had three boards with all the info about visiting the Chateau....

..... you walk up through the lovely gardens......

... and with many historical places, always the scaffolding of upkeep and restoration!!

Now a little history about the chateau from "Everything Dordogne"............"The first owner of Chateau Hautefort was Guy de Lastours in around the year of 1000. Gouffier de Lastours, one of his descendents, is thought to be one of the 30 knights who laid siege to Jerusalem in 1099 alongside Godefroy de Bouillon who later became the first ruler of Kingdom of Jerusalem. 

In the 12th century the chateau came under the rule of the De Born family, represented by two feuding brothers, Constantin and the famous troubadour Bertran de Born. Bertran was famous for old Occitan music and poetry. At this time the medieval fortress consisted of a keep and several towers linked by battlements. In the 15th century, the Château passed to a branch of the De Gontaut family, who took the name and coat of arms of Hautefort.

As times and fashions changed, the fortress gradually turned into a place of leisure similar to those of the Loire Valley. The Château experienced its most extravagant period in the 17th century. François de Hautefort and his grandson Jacques-François worked successively with two architects Nicolas Rambourg, from Lorraine, then a Parisian, Jacques Maigret. The Château was gradually stripped of its defensive functions to become a “modern-style” château, formed of a corps de logis and two wings at right angles, punctuated by two circular towers. Its imposing and majestic form reflects the power of the Lords of Hautefort.

During the French Revolution, the de Hautefort family did not move away. The château was used as a “prison for suspects” from 1793 to 1795, and was saved from destruction. The family owned the castle until 1890 century when the widow of the last owner descended from the De Hautefort family, Count Maxence de Damas, sold the Château to a rich industrialist, Bertrand Artigues. He he died without heirs in 1908, the Château fell into ruins.

In 1929, Hautefort was saved by Baron Henry de Bastard and his wife Simone who gave new life to the residence and its gardens. It was not until after the death of her husband in 1957 that the the Baroness finish the work, she moved into the Château in 1965. In 1968 a fire ravaged the corps de logis of the Château. The Baroness de Bastard set out to restore her château again. Moved by her passion and determination, everyone worked to help and encourage her, from the villagers to the celebrities of the day, such as Pierre de Lagarde or André Malraux."........

The gardens are really extensive.......... In 1853, the landscape architect, Count of Choulot, redid the gardens, adding a landscape garden, geometric flower gardens, topiary gardens imitating the domes of the château, and a long tunnel of greenery. Next to the formal gardens is a hill with an Italian garden with winding shaded paths. The gardens are listed by the Committee of Parks and Gardens of the Ministry of Culture of France as one of the Notable Gardens of France.

... the town of Hautefort is nestled up against the castle walls....

.......  the main staircase......

.... the Grand Fireplace Salon....

..... a ladies bedroom......

....... that has alcoves overlooking the lovely flower gardens on the main terrace.....

........ the drawing room, look on the table and you'll see a picture of the Queen Mother, she made a visit to the Chateau in the late 60's, to see the wonderful gardens.....

.....  most of the rooms has windows overlooking parts of the gardens...

..... this is the Baroness de Bastard's bedroom as she left it.....

.... a small super room with the original painted panels....

.... this is the Baron de Bastard's bedroom....

...... the private chapel for the Chateau....

..... the aisle of the chapel has patterned "Pise" (peezaa) Floor, typical of the Dordogne area.  We saw them every were and they are just great!!!  The look bumpy and uncomfortable, but are really cool to the touch and easy to walk on.....

.....  under the Chateau are tunnels were the work for the house was done, laundry, cooking, baking......

......  the kitchen set up .....  notice the gruesome fake boars head on the table....

... another fortified church, eglise Abbatiale, meaning that it was once part of a monestary or Abby, now long gone -  we happened upon on the way back to Sarlat, it was closed so we couldn't go in....

.... the front of the church...

________________________________

..... for dinner we drove into Sarlat again and chose this restaurant, we ate outside as it was a warm beautiful evening..... I took the picture after we had finished dinner....

..... I had a great dinner, a mushroom and garlic omelet, pommes de terre sardelaise and a small salad - and a beer, I needed that beer after the heat and all the sightseeing!!! There was a ton of garlic in that omelet, and it was delicious!!!!

Thanks for stopping by as I continue my travel-log, do stop again for more trip!!

Take care,

edgar