Monts d'Ardèche Regional Natural Park
Cultural heritage Monts d'Ardèche Regional Natural Park
Tree-trunk apiaries, lauze roofs, béalières, silk-throwing mills
From the traditional apiaries made from hollowed out trunks of chestnut trees to the silk-throwing mills, large industrial buildings hidden in the bottom of the valley, the Monts d'Ardèche Park has plenty of heritage treasures.
Going up and down the paths and trails of the Monts d'Ardèche, one will discover villages clinging to the slopes, such as Antraïgues, Chalençon, etc. and churches with so-called "comb" bell-towers.
The roofs of the buildings on the plateau, in the Mézenc-Gerbier sector, are made from lauze, and farmhouses such as the historical farmhouse of Bourlatier, are solidly built to withstand the rough winters and the north wind.
Further south, the slopes are covered with terraces built by generations of farmers who wanted to tame the slopes to plant chestnut trees, olive trees, etc. Although a considerable number of the "faïsses" have now disappeared, you can still find a number of sites that have been well maintained by the men and women that inhabit the slopes. The dry stone technique is still used, and growing numbers of professionals are training in this skill, thus preserving the landscape by preventing it from closure.
When descending to the bottom of the valleys one can discover many rivers. May old silk-throwing mills remain on the banks of the Ardèche, Gluyère and Eyrieux rivers, among others. Until the start of the 19th century, the Ardèche had around one hundred of these factories for twisting silk thread. Nowadays, restored as houses, gîtes, cultural spaces, etc. these silk-throwing mills still live at the pace of the rivers and are reminiscent of the activity in the valleys in times gone by. You can visit the Silk-throwing Eco-Museum in Chirols to find out more about this heritage.
