Domme is a fortified settlement on a rocky promontory overlooking the Dordogne. It was founded as such in 1281, a new defensive town called a bastide. It was a base of the Knights Templar. As per usual, it changed hands several times between the English and French in the Hundred Years War. In 1588, during the Catholic/Protestant Wars of Religion, the Huguenot captain Geoffroi de Vivans climbed the cliffs at night with 30 men and took the town by surprise. There are cliffs in the rocks, with an entrance in the main square, used by the townspeople as a refuge during these wars.
Click on the small pictures to see larger ones.
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The ramparts and the valley below. |
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Looking down the hill to one of the old gates. |
| Some views inside town: flowers and greenery on old stone walls. |
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Some family pictures:
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| Benjamin and Isabel with one of the many cats one sees wandering around town, this one looking much like our Puss. | An ice cream and Perrier break on a hot afternoon. | Aunt Lorraine and Isabel. | Chantal and Richard. It almost looks like a painted backdrop, but it's all quite real! |
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A view down the Dordogne. (You can see some kayakers towards the bottom...) |
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You too could own a piece of Medieval history... |
Another panorama over the Dordogne valley:
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