Millevaches en Limousin Regional Natural Park
Cultural heritage Millevaches en Limousin Regional Natural Park
Over time, humans in the region have always used one basic element, granite, to build their architectural constructions: dolmens (Croix Blanche, Fades) and menhirs (Femme Morte in Gentioux, Pierre des Druides in Affieux, Pilar, etc.) in the Gallo-Roman period with the sites of Cars in St-Merd les Oussines, the Villa de Gioux, the Colline du Mont-Ceix in Chamberet…; in the middle ages with a good number of cultural buildings (Saint André Abbey in Meymac, Saint-Étienne Collegiate Church in Eymoutiers), churches (Moutier in Felletin, Saint-Michel des Anges in St-Angel, Lestard with its thatched roof, unique in France, Notre-Dame de la Chabanne, etc.), chapels (Pénitents chapel in Ussel), commanderies (St-Sépulcre in Soudaine Lavinadière, Pallier, etc.).
Cities and villages with plenty of character dot the region with remarkable centres that have been labelled "the most beautiful villages in France" (Treignac) or "the most beautiful detours in France" (Aubusson and Meymac). The "small heritage" also deserves mention, with many enigmatic crosses, bridges, bread ovens, wash houses, "good fountains", mills, etc., all of which are reminiscent of the "know-how" of the builders like the "Creuse masons".
The wooded areas that cover half of Millevaches en Limousin Regional Natural Park include remarkable broad-leaf forests. The arboretums in Saint-Setiers, Marius Vazeilles in Pérol-s/Vézère, Lamazière-Haute, Chamberet with its Maison de l’arbre, the Jardin du Centaure in Saint-Yrieix-le-Déjalat, or even the ONF nursery in Peyrat-le-Château contain the greatest diversity of local species.
Walking is the best way to discover the history of the region with its remarkable castles(City and medieval complex of Corrèze and Meymac, Castles of Lieuteret and Fontmartin in Darnets, Rochefort Castle in Sornac, etc.); Mont-Gargan in Saint-Gilles-les-Forêts, symbolic site for the Résistance linked to Colonel Georges Guingouin during World War II, the Museum of la Résistance in Peyrat-le-Château, the Museum of Popular Art and Traditions in Treignac, the Eco-Museum in Crocq, etc.
Jean Ségurel Museum(illustrious accordion player) in Chaumeil, the House of Graphology in Laroche-Près-Feyt, the birthplace of Martin Nadaud (mason and politician of the Creuse) in Soubrebost, the Diamanterie in Felletin, Marius Vazeilles Archaeological Foundation, the Granite Exhibition Hall in Bugeat or even President Jacques Chirac Museum in Sarran… are some of the places that bear witness to the "genius of the children of the Land".
Contemporary art is honoured at the Centre of Contemporary Art in Meymac, the Paul Rebeyrolle Space in Eymoutiers and the International Centre for Art and the Landscape on the island of Vassivière.
