La Souterraine, France - My Local Adventure
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Welcome to La Souterraine
We've been in France for a while now, but with the usual everyday aspects of a 'normal' life, we don't get chance to explore much. So we decided enough was enough and we went out to discover some of the regional area. Every week we take a 30-minute plus drive and go along to a nearish supermarket and stock up (as you do), not realising that the town we were visiting regularly was full of historic sights and photos waiting to be taken. This is a small record of our local adventure and I'll share with you what we discovered. |
What We Discovered
Apart from the eleventh-century, Romanesque-Gothic church we found pictured above (and below!), we came across a thirteenth-century gate, the Porte de St.Jean, and the rest of the ramparts, the centre of the medieval town and various 'musical' sculptures.
While exploring we also found this (see the photo to the right) - a 'trompe l'oeil' (or 'deceive the eye') painted wall. No, this is not a winding boulevard down the town, but a painted wall on the side of a building, just look up at the skyline and roofline! The idea is to create an optical illusion and make you think you're seeing something real and when we first saw it we really thought it did that.
It's not the first time I've seen this type of art, I saw something similar on a wall in Italy, but it is very pretty and really different. Have you ever come across anything like this?
While exploring we also found this (see the photo to the right) - a 'trompe l'oeil' (or 'deceive the eye') painted wall. No, this is not a winding boulevard down the town, but a painted wall on the side of a building, just look up at the skyline and roofline! The idea is to create an optical illusion and make you think you're seeing something real and when we first saw it we really thought it did that.
It's not the first time I've seen this type of art, I saw something similar on a wall in Italy, but it is very pretty and really different. Have you ever come across anything like this?
Photos from our trip around La Souterraine
Did you know?
That the name of the town, translates as 'subterranean' or 'underground', and relates to the underground part of the church - the crypt.
Porte de St. Jean
The thirteenth-century gate, the 'Porte de St. Jean'
Porte de St. Jean
This is the thirteenth-century gate, the 'Porte de St. Jean'. On the other side is a tiny, recessed statue of said saint, supposedly holding a 'lantern of the dead'. (It was so tiny I couldn't get a good picture of it!) We couldn't get to the bottom of the story so if anyone knows it, please let us know in the comments below...
This is the thirteenth-century gate, the 'Porte de St. Jean'. On the other side is a tiny, recessed statue of said saint, supposedly holding a 'lantern of the dead'. (It was so tiny I couldn't get a good picture of it!) We couldn't get to the bottom of the story so if anyone knows it, please let us know in the comments below...
Did you know?
The small river Sédelle, a tributary of the Creuse River, flows through the town.
French Google Map - Find La Souterraine
Another of the musician sculptures
More information on La Souterraine
- http://www.france-voyage.com/towns/la-souterraine-5691.htm
Travel guide and tourist information - http://www.lasouterraine.fr/
French site for everything going on in La Soutteraine - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Souterraine
Wikipedia page for La Souterraine - http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g616100-La_Souterraine_Creuse_Limousin-Vacations.html
Tripadviser page for La Souterraine
