Blog : Tourism news from our region

Our Dordogne Valley Tourist Office regularly invites us to visit tourist, historical and heritage sites. This was the case in early April, when we took part in a tour of this magnificent abbey, which is home to much of our region's historical heritage. Perched on a rocky promontory overlooking the Coiroux valley, south of Corrèze and 45 minutes from the Moulin du Boisset, Aubazine Abbey is a masterpiece of Cistercian architecture founded in the 12th century. This place of rare serenity tells a story of faith, rigour and inspiration through its golden stones and clean lines. Let's take a look at its history:

In 1134, Etienne d'Obazine, a priest driven by a deep desire to return to an austere evangelical life, withdrew to the solitude of the Corrèze forests. He was quickly joined by disciples and founded a monastic community in Aubazine based on prayer, silence, manual labour and simplicity. Recognising the authenticity of this approach, the Order of Cîteaux officially welcomed the foundation in 1142. The abbey thus became the only Cistercian house in the Limousin region and developed in strict accordance with the Rule of Saint Benedict. A notable feature was that Aubazine was from the outset a double monastery, home to both a community of monks in Aubazine and a community of nuns in Coyroux, a few kilometres away. The two groups lived in the utmost austerity, according to the same spiritual principles.

The monks of Aubazine built an abbey that was exemplary of Cistercian architecture: pure, functional, bathed in light, but without exuberance, ornamentation or colourful stained glass windows. The abbey church, cloister, dormitory and chapter house still bear witness today to this art of simplicity in the service of spiritual elevation.

Recently, on a beautiful sunny day when we weren't having guests (it happens sometimes), we went to discover one of the many archaeological sites close to Le Moulin: the Archéosite des Fieux.

The Archéosite des Fieux is first and foremost an open-air cave located in the north of the Causses du Quercy, near Gramat. This site was an important hunting ground and then a temporary habitat, from Neanderthal man to modern man (known as Cro-Magnon). The traces and remains are spread over different excavation sites, each telling the story of a different area of human occupation. The decorated cave, with its engravings and paintings, was classified as a Historic Monument on 17 January 1967, and is contemporary with other examples of cave art in the Quercy region, such as Pech Merle and Cougnac, with perhaps an earlier phase that is exceptional for the region.

Did you know that 300 metres from the Moulin du Boisset, just across the road, on a cliff covered in dense vegetation these days, is the site of Uxellodunum, where so much of our history took place? Uxellodunum! What's all this about?

Uxellodunum is the name of the stronghold where Gallic troops fought the last battle for the independence of Gaul.

Let's take a step back in time to 51 BC. The surrender of Alesia a year earlier and the capture of its legendary leader Vercingetorix had led to the submission of almost all the peoples of Gaul. But Gaul was not yet powerless. The vanquished quickly got their act together and decided to attack the Romans in small groups at several points at a time.