Collonges-la-Rouge is a member — the founding member, in fact — of the Plus Beaux Villages de France association. According several web sites I've read, back in the 1970s the Reader's Digest company put together a publication called just that — Les Plus Beaux Villages de France — listing the 100 most beautiful villages in France. The mayor of Collonges became aware of it and contacted the mayors of all the villages listed, asking them if they'd be interested in creating an association of such villages to promote and preserve them. More than 60 mayors responded and the association was founded in 1982. More than 150 villages are members today.
This slideshow of my walk through Collonges features 10 photos and runs for less than 2 minutes.
It was the same mayor of the town then known simply as Collonges who added the suffix -la-Rouge to the name to distinguish it from other villages and towns in France and Switzerland that were also named Collonges. The name derives from the Latin colonia (colony). A Roman colonized the area nearly 2000 years ago and soon people were referring to the town that grew up here by that name. I took these photos on May 2, 2006, and I'm publishing them now as part of my "virtual vacation" series because we are not allowed to travel during this great coronavirus confinement of 2020.
Not really off topic. On our way back from chateau de Meillant and Bourges, where was that church which coud have been in Collonges-la-Ruge?
ReplyDeleteI like this side
Here it is: Chârost — it's on the road from Bourges to Issoudun, which also passes through St-Florent-sur-Cher.
DeleteThank you for the link to your post on Chârost.
DeleteNo problem
DeleteI love walking in pretty little villages when flowers are in bloom. The red ones are unique.
ReplyDeleteYour photos are fabulous, Ken! I plan to get out my watercolors and attempt to recreate that very first photo with those deep red colors! Neither my daughter(although she was familiar with the village) nor I have visited but the next time I plan to check it out! Thank you for enlightening me yesterday with your previous trip and descriptions.
ReplyDeleteMary in Oregon
Thanks, Mary. Collonges, Rocamadour, Cahors, and Sarlat, among many other towns and villages in Périgord and Quercy, are really worth the trip. Maybe we'll all be able to travel again in the not too distant future.
DeleteI took my family to Lascaux and Sarlat and my daughter took a small group of her students for a week in Dordogne as well! We love that part of France, although I can't think of anyplace in France that I would discourage people to visit! I've read Kate Moss's books that are based on the area around Cahors and Carcassonne. I've seen Albri from shots from a helicopter while watching the Tour de France on TV. I've been to Carcassonne a couple of times. Many photos later, who could resist a repeat? Yes, we must be able to travel again. I cannot think otherwise.
DeleteMary in Oregon
Ken, that photo from the AATF office is amazing! Love it :)
ReplyDeleteFrom what I see here, on the FrenchTeachers.org website (it's the AATF website), the base was in NY in 1936, and later moved to the University of Illinois. In 1997, it moved to Southern Illinois University (that would be in Edwardsville, IL, closer to me) when Jayne Abrate became Executive Director, and in 2015, they moved to their own building, in Marion, Illinois.
I worked with Frank Nachtmann and Fred Jenkins all thtough the 70s in Champaign. Both have now passed away.
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