| At the heart of the Entre-Deux-Mers vine-
growing area, The
"bastide" of Monségur, whose name means « a hill where one feels
secure », is an ancient medieval city, founded in 1265, and overlooking the valley of
the Dropt. |
 |
In the South-West of France, a bastide
is a settlement designed around a central square. The streets meet at right angles
and form, with the alleyways which run parallel to them, a configuration of
regularly-shaped sections, particularly on view here in Monségur.
|
|
As you make your way through the village,
you will inevitably stop at the place Robert Darniche, a square whose impressive dimensions (78 m
square) occupy the widest part of the promontory. It is around this square
that you will find the principal functions of the town : shops, town hall and church.
|
|
| There is a XIXth century covered
market in the middle of the square whose structure of steel and glass
accomodates every Friday a market as well as foie gras and flower festivals. It can also be transformed into a dance hall or welcome
important cultural events including the international jazz festival " 24
hours of swing
".
|
 |
|
 |
The hexagonally-shaped Governor's
Tower was built at the end of the XVth century, after the Hundred Years War. On
each side of the door, unusual inscriptions are carved into the pilasters.
The tympanum is decorated with a Tudor arch.
|
|
|
From the roads which lead from the central place, you will
be able to admire the half-timbered houses, built on a framework of wooden
boards, filled in with a mixture of cob, rubble and bricks |
 |
|
| Parallel to the main axes, the
alleyways marked out the depth of the building lots (8.6 m x 25.8 m). In the most
typical of them, le "ruet du
Soleil",
(the alleyway of the sun) you can still find the old stone mountings which once
supported the wooden bridges. |
 |
|
|
Built at the same time as the bastide, the church Notre Dame (Our
Lady) stands
at the north east angle of the square. In one of its chapels, containing the
christening font, you can admire the crowned lion of England.
|
 |
|
|
Once you have gone through the Porte du Dropt, you can follow the
"chemin de ronde", a pleasant walk along a circular path beneath the
town's ramparts.
Bonne promenade ! |
