Architecture & construction
(click on a picture to read the full article)
‘GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD’: HOW GRAIN SILOS IMPROVED FOOD SECURITY IN ANCIENT TIMES / The sixth line from the Lord’s Prayer asks God to provide us with the essentials that keep body and soul together. Long before those words were written, our distant ancestors took more practical steps to reduce the risk of dying of starvation in troubled times. A key part of their survival strategy was the silo.
HOW FAR TO MONTFA? / Discover the connection between this castle and the artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
KING WAMBA AND THE CASTLE OF THE VULTURES / Discover a remote castle with splendid views and read the story of a rebellion against the last great king of the Visigoths.
TAKE A RIDE TO THE TOP OF THE WORLD AND DISCOVER THE PIC DU MIDI / There are five Pics du Midi in the Pyrenees. The one from Bigorre is undoubtedly the easiest to reach, and its summit is home to a range of constructions including observatories, a cafeteria, a restaurant, and even a hotel. It also offers stunning views of the mountains.
FORTERESSE DE SALSES: DISCOVERING HISTORY ON THE AUTOROUTES OF FRANCE / An autoroute rest area with a difference: discover the Forteresse de Salses, built in 1497, besieged many times until it was made redundant in 1659 by the Treaty of the Pyrenees which moved the border 40 kilometres further south.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES ON THE CANAL DU MIDI IN 1669 / Pierre-Paul Riquet offered his workers sick pay, holiday pay, monthly pay, equal pay, and he expressed a preference for employing females. Why did he make such a generous and enlightened offer?
PIGEONNIERS IN THE URBAN LANDSCAPE OF TOULOUSE / Follow this 22-kilometre circuit in Toulouse and discover eight magnificent pigeonniers built between the 17th and 19th centuries.
THE MYSTERIOUS OBJECT IN THE LAKE / The obelisk in the lake at Saint-Ferréol only shows itself during times of extreme drought (eg 2022) or when the lake is drained for maintenance (last done in the winter of 2016-17). What is its purpose?
A FAMILY STROLL THROUGH PREHISTORY IN THE PYRENEES / One of my favourite short walks in the Cerdagne is a five-kilometre balade néolithique, or Stone Age stroll, around the village of Eyne. As well as fine views of the Pyrenees, visitors of all ages will be astonished to discover such a wide range of ancient monuments in such a short distance.
RELIGIOUS PEARLS OF THE MONTAGNE NOIRE / Discover a secret Protestant cemetery, a long-abandoned church, a bijou monastery reclaimed by the forest, and a rustic chapel which would be the perfect location for hobbits and wood elves if they were organising a wedding.
HÔTEL D’ASSÉZAT: A MASTERPIECE OF RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE / How did Pierre Assézat become so rich, he could begin building one of the finest Renaissance mansions in Toulouse? And why did he run out of money halfway through the project? Discover the ups and downs of the pastel trade and the damaging effects of the Wars of Religion.
PIGEONNIERS: THE INSIDE STORY / Arguably, no creature has had more beautiful homes built for it than the pigeon, and the 6,000 that remain in our region display an astonishing variety of shapes, sizes and styles. This raises an obvious question: why did so many people go to so much trouble to house a bird?
ON THE ICE HOUSE TRAIL IN THE MONTAGNE NOIRE / Pradelles-Cabardès lies just below the highest point of the Montagne Noire – the Pic de Nor. A century ago, this tiny mountain village dominated the ice industry in our region. The best way to grasp the scale of this enterprise is to take a stroll along Le Sentier des Glacières (The Icehouse Trail).
THE CANAL DU MIDI AT BÉZIERS / When it was opened in 1682, the Canal du Midi was called the Eighth Wonder of the World, a 240km waterway connecting Toulouse to the Mediterranean. From its highest point at Naurouze, the canal descends 189 metres to the sea via 45 locks. Perhaps the most impressive of these hydraulic lifts is the flight just outside Béziers called the Nine Locks of Fonsérannes.
A RARE LOOK INSIDE A PIGEONNIER OR DOVECOTE / A local historian told me about a pigeonnier which, he assured me, was the most fascinating example he had ever been inside. I took a short drive over to Saint-Germain-des-Prés near Puylaurens, and then off I went across a field of stubble armed with a ladder and a camera.
OVERDOSING ON CHÂTEAUX: LASTOURS - ONE VILLAGE, FOUR CASTLES (PLUS A FIFTH!) / Drive twenty minutes north from Carcassonne and you will reach the village of Lastours. Red and gold Occitan flags flutter from lampposts alongside the river, and high on a ridge above the village, four separate châteaux stand in a line: Cabaret, Tour Régine, Surdespine and Quertinheux.
WHY WAS THOMAS JEFFERSON SO DETERMINED TO VISIT THIS PRETTY LAKE? / Rather than admiring its beauty, Jefferson was more interested in the engineering aspects of Saint-Ferréol. It is, in fact, a reservoir, not a lake, and it supplies the Canal du Midi. Jefferson studied the whole system because, in his home state of Virginia, there was great interest in the idea of making the Potomac navigable.
FIRED UP ABOUT ICE: RESTORING AN ICEHOUSE AT PRADELLES-CABARDÈS / Thank you, Daniel and Marie-Christine Bertherat, for sharing your enthusiasm for ice houses and showing me your unusual restoration project. A century ago, ‘les glacières inépuisables de la Montagne Noire’ seemed truly inexhaustible, and the tiny village of Pradelles-Cabardès supplied ice to towns as far afield as Bordeaux, Perpignan and Toulouse.
EXPLORE OTHER TOPICS
Agriculture - Architecture & construction - Art & culture - Curious tales & places - Gastronomic heritage - Industry & commerce - Military history - Prehistory - Religious affairs - Take a trip