Between trails and alleys in Availles Limouzine

Depart from the town of Availles-Limouzine, latitude 46.1209700 (N 46° 7’ 15”), longitude 0.6566100 (E 0° 39’ 24”)

• Departure Tourist Office

• The Tourist Office is located in a very old outbuilding of the opulent house behind. There remains a curious fountain. Do not hesitate to visit it.

• House called the "Fief of the river"

• You start the visit by crossing the brook "l'Arribat" on the Saint-Sornin bridge. On your left, the Fief of the river: this house is mentioned in the departmental archives since 1606; on this small square, until about 1930, there existed the old halls and a wooden house of the fifteenth century.
• You are now in the old neighborhood called the "Fond de la Ville".
• Before 1924, the current town hall housed the Girls Primary School, well separated from that of boys. There were three classes: two classes in the main hall and one in the current administrative offices. The teachers lived on the floor. We were very cramped in the courtyard. In 1910, she had to hold 150 girls...

• City Gate

• This door is one of the rare vestiges that survive from the Middle Ages. It is because the destructive assaults of the Hundred Years' War, then the Wars of Religion have set fire to the castle of Availles.
• This door in front of which you are still today is framed by its two towers. The left tower served as a prison in the past. While passing under the tower, do not miss to observe the periphery of the door. You will see behind the scenes that were used to operate the harrow. Moats encircled the fortifications. Above, the drawbridge was falling.

• Rue des Cavaliers

• Name that perpetuates the memory of the cavalry regiments that used to pass their winter quarters in Availles homestay.. As you pass by, you notice an old studded door, a mullioned window, alleys and firewalls. medieval. On the left, at No. 5, stood the old post office. It was in this building that the armistice of the First World War was telegraphed.

• City Gate

• It was once flanked by two square towers. On the right, the old dovecote. On the left, at the top of the medieval house, a pulley which was used to hoist a lift to the attic.

• Laundry of the Fond of the City

• The old door crossed, you arrive at the edge of the Vienne. Formerly, at this place, a bridge spanned the river; there is the abutment that you see on the other side, opposite. This bridge was destroyed by the English during the Hundred Years War. There is hardly a century, the place was very animated. He mingled domestic tasks and leisure. Until about 1950, sandmen were busy around their boat.
• Nearby, we met the washers. The work was tough. Finally, on the left, where the Arribat flows into the Vienne, the fish abounded, attracted by the blood flowing from the slaughterhouse behind the castle wall.

• Castle Street

• Barely half a century ago, there was a carpenter-carpenter who patched the boats on trestles installed in the street. His initials carved into the wood are still on the door of one of his workshops: "EF".

• Impasse du Château

• Curious with her elbows at right angles, she leads to the so-called "Well Marlou" pump.

• Venelle du Puits Marlou

• In the last century, the inhabitants of Fond de la Ville went to get their water "to get their acute" in patois at this pump. Very tasty, always fresh, and they say, it relieved inflammation. When leaving, take a right.

• Republic street

• On your left, you will notice the alley then the narrow alley that join the Rue des Cavaliers.

• Rue des Douves

This street marries, at least in part, the route of the moats which surrounded the castle.

• Tower Street

• We notice the house of the sixteenth century. which still looks great with its three floors.

• Castle Street

• The house you see near the bridge is called "The Castle". It is the memory of the feudal castle, of which there are few visible elements from the outside. Built to defend the passage of the river, it was destroyed and rebuilt several times. After the Wars of Religion, in which all was burned, a fortified three-storey house was erected in its stead, itself reduced to a state of hovel during the Revolution.

• The bridge

• This modern bridge replaced the Eiffel Bridge in the 1950s, too narrow for the ever-increasing traffic.

• Port Street

• At 14, was restored the old house of the smuggler. Retrace your steps to take the path to the Port.

• Port Road

• On the left, on an overhanging ground, you will see a picturesque pump with a big wheel. It dates from the 1900s and was restored in 2009.

• Rue du Docteur Adrien Veillon

• Leaving the Chemin du Port, you come to Rue Adrien Veillon. Just opposite, stands a house of the sixteenth century. called "the Pit" at a place called Saint Nicolas. You also see the statue of the saint on the facade. From 1709 to 1761, this house housed the College d'Availles. In 1864, born Adrien Veillon, future direct collaborator of the great Pastor, author of remarkable work on anaerobic pathogens and gaseous gangrene, serious and frequent complications of war wounds, against which he created an effective serum during the war of 14 -18.

• Market Deadlock

• Remembrance of the time when, on the current Place Veillon, stood the poultry fair.

• Station Road

• Stretches in front of you the old Field-of-Fair with the oxen and then until recently with the rams. You will not see the station located much higher on the left, but the gendarmerie. In local history, these two institutions are linked. In 1897, during the construction of the railway, a post was installed and it was transformed into barracks in 1901.

• Arribat Bridge

• Small local stream winding between gardens and meadows before flowing into the Vienne.

• Street called Acetylene

• This local name refers to the years 1910-1920 when Availles, deciding to light with acetylene, set up a production plant for this gas, probably located in the building called "acetylene" on the right of the street uphill.

• Church on the choir side

• Let's lift our heads. We see, above the window of the choir, the coat of arms representing the Archiacs, lords of Availles, who in the fifteenth century. had the part of the destroyed choir rebuilt in Gothic style.
• At the foot, a few meters, notice the two wells.

• Venelle to Liberty Street

• You go to the left of the church, then fork into a narrow alley.
• A very old house borders this alley. She is dated. Will you discover, engraved in stone, the date of construction of this humble abode? The Saint-Martin church was built in the 11th century. Its heavy and chunky appearance charms lovers of simplicity.

• Liberty Street

• Look for the symbolic mark engraved above the door of an old house. This would be the emblem of the Companions, no doubt very present at the time of the construction of the choir of the Church.

• Church Square and its Calvary

• We are on the site of the old Romanesque and even Merovingian cemetery.

It is therefore not surprising to find a crucifix on the pedestal probably before the cross.

• Admire on this cross, the serpent wrapped around the amphora and look at the bottom of the cross the face buried under a veil of mourning: virgin in tears or painful face of mourning?

• Crossing rue de la Résistance

• Recently renamed, this street was formerly called "rue de la Cure". On your left, indeed, you see a manor house that housed the presbytery

• Park Trails

• Through these uncrowded paths, you go down the hill. The view on the right bank of the Vienne is panoramic: on your left the Grands Moulins; on your right Abzac; opposite the campground and above the cottage Bussière.

• Paths of Gardens on the edge of the Vienne

• Crossing rue Baptiste Marcet
• Danger! Be careful of traffic before crossing.
• Have a good walk among the gardens that are somewhat abandoned today, but in the middle of which are breathing softness and tranquility. They take you back to where you started.