Here I am still posting about one day in July 2006 when my late friend Charles-Henry drove around sightseeing in the area known as le sud-Touraine. Le Grand-Pressigny is a little town that is home to a very impressive set of ruins. The old castle was built here in the early Middle Ages. The pictures here show what remains of it. It's 35 meters tall (115 feet).
The ruins on the left and on the right just above are the ruins of the old castle's
donjon, or "keep". You can see the very narrow, steep spiral staircase that led to the top the othe old tower.
The building on the far left above was a French Renaissance addition and is now a museum devoted to the town's history (along with a 20th century building nearby. The population of the town is about 1,000 nowadays. It's 25 miles north of Saint-Savin and Chauvigny, which I've posted about recently, and 35 miles southeast of Saint-Aignan. The closest big town is Loches, 18 miles north.
The ruins on the left and on the right just above are the ruins of the old castle's donjon, or "keep". You can see the very narrow, steep spiral staircase that led to the top the othe old tower.
Ken, an update for you....
ReplyDeletethings have changed with the building of a purpose built extension.
The new museum building is very impressive [but rather like a blockhouse - https://www.photocrowd.com/photos/make-it-different-8958977.840dab15f/ ]
and, sadly, the 35 metre Renaissance era tower is no longer accessible to Joe Public. [The views from the top were wonderful]
The Oldest part is the 12th Century donjon which, until 1988 was in one piece [but being undermined by rats] and when it collapsed, it trapped an elderly woman in her kitchen further down
The display about the town has gone, the display about the history of the chateau is confined to one small display... the three floors now house the collection focussing on the pre-history of the immediate religion... one room dedicated to the marine life that laid down the toffee-coloured flint in a layer that makes the region so important... the rest to Man's activities in the area from Neanderthal to Neolithic, the Bronze, Iron and Roman eras... all displayed in the Long Gallery in your first picture as a time-line. Then there are displays about the flint tools found in the region, with emphasis throughout on the "Grandes Lames" the 40cm blades that were struck by their thousands from the "livres du beurre".... along with a projected video of some of the "Grandes Lames" being struck from a "livre du beurre"
Next weekend [6/7th July] we have the "Prehistorials".... oddly enough with an Olympic theme [can't think why!] with live flint knapping, flint-tipped, arrow-like lances, throwers of same, fire-starting demos, etc, etc. The lances will be launched at realistic targets places in the dry moat.... all good fun!!
it would be well worth yours and Walt's time for a little excursion the 20 km further south from Loches....
Walt would end up with many photos!! You too....
Thanks Tim. Maybe we'll get to Grand-Pressigny again one day, and maybe not.
DeleteAh! All these years that I saw "A Very Grand Pressigny" blog title in your side bar (and visited it occasionally, for a read), I never Googled Pressigny... so, thanks for this!
ReplyDelete