Category Archives: History

A Little-Known World War II Incident: the Croat Mutiny in Villefranche-de-Rouergue

Posted on 19/03/2018 by nessafrance

Our local Médiathèque (library) is a hive of literary activity. In addition to the literary festival that takes place every October, there’s a series of author talks throughout the year. On Saturday, we heard Adrian Weale, a former UK army … Continue reading →

Posted in History, World War I & II | Tagged Communist partisans, Croat mutiny, Croat revolt, Louis Fontanges, Occupied France, SS, SW France, Villefranche de Rouergue, World War II | 29 Comments

On the Carpet: the Tapestries of Montpezat-de-Quercy

Posted on 12/03/2018 by nessafrance

I’m pleased to say that I have done one of the five items I listed in my January post of things to do in 2018. It’s now getting a bit late for the truffle market at Lalbenque, but that will … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Places | Tagged Black Death, Cardinal Pierre Dés Prés, Collégiale Saint-Martin, Flemish tapestries, Hundred Years War, Jean IV Dés Prés, Montpezat de Quercy, SW France, Tapestries of Montpezat-de-Quercy | 7 Comments

Five Museums in SW France You Must Visit

Posted on 04/03/2018 by nessafrance

If you read Life on La Lune regularly, you’ll know I’m a history girl. And there’s plenty of it around in our part of France if you just scratch the surface. Also, many museums in France open for free on … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Places | Tagged Albi, Bordeaux, Centre Jean Moulin, Figeac, French museums, Fromagerie Papillon, Musée Champollion, Musée du Beret, Musée Toulouse-Lautrec, Nay, Roquefort, SW France | 17 Comments

Shaken, and Probably Stirred: Earthquakes in France

Posted on 19/02/2018 by nessafrance

Have you ever been in an earthquake? I have, when we lived in Birmingham, and it was a very odd experience. I must admit that it wasn’t a very big one and there was no danger of the house collapsing, … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Nature | Tagged Earthquakes, Earthquakes in France, France, Lambesc earthquake, Ruisseau de Caudesaygues, seismic zones in France, Southwest France | 21 Comments

Neither Resisters Nor Collaborators: Returning French STO Workers in 1945

Posted on 04/02/2018 by nessafrance

Certain aspects of World War II remain taboo subjects in France, even among people who were not around at the time. For those of us whose country has not been occupied for hundreds of years, it’s difficult to imagine how … Continue reading →

Posted in History, World War I & II | Tagged Daniel Crozes, forced labour, French resistance, Fritz Sauckel, Lendemains de Libération, Pierre Laval, Service du Travail Obligatoire, SW France, Vichy France, World War II | 18 Comments

That Which Should Accompany Old Age

Posted on 21/01/2018 by nessafrance

Yesterday, we visited our elderly neighbour, whose wife died nearly two years ago. We often feel guilty that we don’t visit more often, but Monsieur F is almost 90 and now rather frail. He is very difficult to understand, even … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Personalities | Tagged elderly in France, farmers, Farrebique, rural depopulation, rural France, rural life, SW France | 25 Comments

5 Things to do in SW France in 2018

Posted on 07/01/2018 by nessafrance

Meilleurs vœux pour l’an 2018 à tous mes lecteurs. I will still be writing 2017 on cheques until the end of February. Have you made New Year’s Resolutions? I find those lofty aspirations are all too easily broken. However, the … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Places | Tagged Lalbenque, Les Arques, Montpezat de Quercy, Musée Fenaille, Musée Soulages, Musée Zadkine, Ossip Zadkine, Puylaroque, Restaurant les Sens, Rodez, SW France, truffles | 13 Comments

French Flavours: P is for Petits Fours

Posted on 21/12/2017 by nessafrance

As Christmas is approaching, this week’s post is a frivolous look at a mainstay of the French apéritif, le petit four. At a party recently, someone challenged me to investigate the origins of the name, and Life on La … Continue reading →

Posted in Food/drink/recipes, History | Tagged amuse-bouche, aperitifs, appetisers, canapé, France, mignardises, mise-en-bouche, petits fours | 13 Comments

Absinthe Friends

Posted on 03/12/2017 by nessafrance

It’s the drink that symbolised the Bohemian culture of la Belle Epoque in late 19th to early 20th-century Paris. It was consumed by Toulouse-Lautrec, Baudelaire and Satie, painted by Degas and Manet and immortalised in early silent films. This beverage … Continue reading →

Posted in Food/drink/recipes, History | Tagged absinthe, aperitifs, Artemisia absinthium, banning of absinthe, Belle Epoque, common wormwood, France, la fée verte, Paris, revival of absinthe | 23 Comments

French Flavours: Poule Farcie, a Classic French Dish

Posted on 19/11/2017 by nessafrance

The ubiquitous roadside posters advertising French fêtes and other social events very often have “poule farcie” emblazoned across the centre. This dish has a number of advantages for large gatherings. It can feed a lot of people and much of it … Continue reading →

Posted in Food/drink/recipes, History | Tagged Bearn, chicken, confréries, French Wars of Religion, Henri IV, poule au pot, poule farcie, poule farcie recipe, SW France | 5 Comments

A Film Record of an Aveyron Family Post-WWII

Posted on 09/11/2017 by nessafrance

Just after WWII, Aveyron was a different country from much of France. It took a long time to get there from anywhere else, people spoke a different language and the way of life had existed for centuries. Change was happening, … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Personalities, Places | Tagged agriculture, Aveyron, Farrebique, Film, French country life, Georges Rouquier, Occitan, Rouergue, rural life, SW France | 4 Comments

Hidden Treasure in Quercy

Posted on 04/11/2017 by nessafrance

Imagine yourself at the bottom of this 30-metre deep hole, hacking away at the white rock with a pickaxe and piling the spoil into a wooden bucket. It’s damp. Visibility is assisted only by the dim light of lanterns. The … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Places | Tagged Bach, Causse de Limogne, Jean-André Poumarède, phosphate industry, phosphate mines, phosphate mining, phosphatières, Phosphatières du Cloup d'Aural, Quercy, SW France | 7 Comments

Well, Well, Well: Finding Water in Bygone Days

Posted on 15/10/2017 by nessafrance

Sorry, I couldn’t help the pun. Water has been on our minds rather a lot this year, what with the contamination of our local water supply a couple of months ago. That now seems to be resolved, fortunately. However, our … Continue reading →

Posted in History | Tagged citerne, dowsing, Jean de Florette, Manon des Sources, Marcel Pagnol, puits, source, sourcier, SW France, water diviner, water divining | 15 Comments

Every Château Tells a Story #15: Le Château de Puylagarde

Posted on 28/09/2017 by nessafrance

The village of Puylagarde has several distinctions. First, it’s the highest village in our département of Tarn-et-Garonne at 425 metres. On a clear day, you can see the Pyrénées to the south and the Monts du Cantal to the north … Continue reading →

Posted in Châteaux, History, Places | Tagged Avignon popes, Château de Puylagarde, Duèze family, Gourdon family, Hundred Years War, Pope John XXII, Puylagarde, Ratier de Belfort, routiers, SW France | 4 Comments

Vaour and the Templars

Posted on 17/09/2017 by nessafrance

Situated on the edge of the former royal Forêt de Grésigne, the town of Vaour conveys a strong sense of history. This is not surprising, since traces of Neolithic tombs and later occupation can be found in the forest. … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Places | Tagged Commanderie de Vaour, Crusades, fôret de Grésigne, SW France, Tarn, Templar commanderie, Templars, Vaour | 17 Comments

Varen: Haven by the River Aveyron

Posted on 03/08/2017 by nessafrance

I never cease to be amazed by the new things (to me) I discover in this region, where I have lived for 20 years. We haven’t set foot in Varen for ages and even then we didn’t stop to have … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Places | Tagged Château de Varen, French Wars of Religion, Hundred Years War, Le Moulin Varen, Lexos, patrimoine, River Aveyron, SW France, Tarn-et-Garonne, Varen | 16 Comments

Discovering a Former Railway Line

Posted on 30/06/2017 by nessafrance

Do you enjoy travelling by train? I do, except of course when it’s cancelled or held up by the wrong sort of leaves or by vandals removing the copper from the electric cables, as happened to us recently in Sweden. … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Places | Tagged Bruniquel, Décazeville mines, Féneyrols, former railway line, Montauban-Capdenac railway, Penne, River Aveyron, Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val, SW France | 15 Comments

All Fired Up: Bread Ovens

Posted on 11/06/2017 by nessafrance

You may have seen these small, domed buildings, often tacked onto the back of a house, in French villages. They’re part of le petit patrimoine, not significant enough to merit historic monument status but important vestiges of past times, nonetheless. … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Places | Tagged baking bread, bread, communal bread oven, Flouquet, four à pain, four banal, French bread, patrimoine, rural life, SW France | 15 Comments

Restoration of the Lavoir in Caylus

Posted on 11/05/2017 by nessafrance

Lavoirs, or wash-houses, are features of the landscape around here. In times past, this is where the women (naturally…) did their laundry. They were normally constructed by a spring or a stream, so if the women were lucky, there was … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Places | Tagged Caylus, Caylus Notre Village, lavoir, lavoir de Caylus, patrimoine, rural life, SW France, wash-houses | 10 Comments

#Paris in the Springtime #2

Posted on 16/04/2017 by nessafrance

Here’s part 2 of the story of our first visit to Paris in 15 years. We had only three days in the capital, and so we were determined to make the most of it. Our shoe leather was definitely more … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Places | Tagged France, Gare d'Austerlitz, Ile de la Cité, Ile Saint-Louis, Jardin des Plantes Paris, Musée d'Orsay, Notre-Dame de Paris, Paris, Parisians, Shakespeare and Company, traffic in Paris | 8 Comments

French Flavours #3: C is for Cassoulet

Posted on 05/03/2017 by nessafrance

I can’t allow the letter C to pass by without writing about cassoulet, the signature dish of southwest France. It’s been around for a long time and the correct recipe is the subject of controversy. What is it? A stew … Continue reading →

Posted in Customs, Food/drink/recipes, History | Tagged Cassoulet, Cassoulet de Carcassonne, Cassoulet de Castelnaudary, Cassoulet de Toulouse, Castelnaudary, French dishes, French flavours, recipes, SW France | 15 Comments

Puylaroque: Tranquil Village with a Turbulent History

Posted on 19/02/2017 by nessafrance

The panorama from the viewpoint at Puylaroque is magnificent. Beneath the rocky outcrop on which the village stands, the plains of southwest France roll away towards the Pyrénées. On a clear day, you can see the mountains, but that is … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Places | Tagged Albigensian Crusade, French Wars of Religion, Hundred Years War, Puylaroque, Quercy, Restaurant les Sens, SW France, Tarn-et-Garonne, truffles | 3 Comments

Forgotten Love Letter Saved for Posterity

Posted on 14/02/2017 by nessafrance

Sometimes fate works in mysterious ways. In this case, it saved for posterity a wonderful letter that would otherwise have been consigned to the flames with a heap of junk.

Continue reading →

Posted in History, Places, World War I & II | Tagged Espinas, farming, Flouquet, living in France, love letter, rural community, rural life, SW France, World War I | 5 Comments

Beyond Time: A Journey Back to Prehistory Part 2

Posted on 05/02/2017 by nessafrance

Last week, I started a journey back in time to look at some of the many prehistoric relics left in this region by our ancestors. This week, we’re dropping in on the artists who used cave walls as their canvas … Continue reading →

Posted in History | Tagged Bruniquel, cave paintings, Célé Valley, Grotte du Pech Merle, homo sapiens, Lascaux, Neanderthal man, prehistoric art, prehistoric sites in SW France, prehistory, SW France | 10 Comments

Beyond Time: A Journey Back to Prehistory Part 1

Posted on 29/01/2017 by nessafrance

Ours is one of the more rural French regions, but transport networks criss-cross the countryside and commercial suburbs mushroom around its historic towns. And yet this part of France is peppered with the works of prehistoric artists and builders. They … Continue reading →

Posted in History | Tagged Aveyron, cave paintings, Dolmens, Grotte de Foissac, Menhirs, Musée Fenaille, prehistoric art, prehistoric sites in SW France, prehistory, SW France | 5 Comments

10 French Christmas Traditions

Posted on 16/12/2016 by nessafrance

Like every country in Christendom, France has a range of Christmas traditions, local and nationwide. I explore a few in this post. Christmas used to be lower key, less commercialised and of shorter duration than in the UK. During our … Continue reading →

Posted in Customs, History | Tagged Bûche de Noël, chansons de Noël, Christmas, Corsica, French Christmas traditions, Noël, rural life, santons, SW France | 27 Comments

A Cut Above the Rest: Laguiole Knives

Posted on 08/12/2016 by nessafrance

The Aveyron town of Laguiole sits at the edge of the stark and empty but stunningly beautiful Aubrac plateau. We passed through there several years ago on our way to the Aubrac cattle transhumance, which takes place every year in … Continue reading →

Posted in Aveyron, History, Places | Tagged Aubrac, Aveyron, Jean-Louis Calmels, Laguiole, Laguiole bee motif, Laguiole cheese, Laguiole knife, Michel Bras, SW France, transhumance | 11 Comments

Halloween Traditions, Ghosts and Witches in France

Posted on 31/10/2016 by nessafrance

I don’t need to tell you what today is. Halloween has become more commercialised in recent years in France and traditions such as trick-or-treating have taken root. I hope we live far enough off the beaten track not to encounter … Continue reading →

Posted in Customs, History | Tagged Belcastel, Château de Belcastel, French superstitions, Ghost stories, Halloween, social customs, supernatural, superstition, SW France, Witchcraft in France, witches | 9 Comments

Walnut Time

Posted on 16/10/2016 by nessafrance

The walnuts start to fall here in SW France around the end of September. By mid-October, it’s positively raining nuts. This year, we were afraid that our crop would be minimal. Many walnuts fell early and were blackened and mummified, … Continue reading →

Posted in Food/drink/recipes, History | Tagged autumn, French country novels, huile de noix, rural life, SW France, walnut oil, walnut oil mill, walnut tart, walnut trees, walnut wine, walnuts | 24 Comments

Every Château Tells a Story #14: Le Château des Bordes, Lot

Posted on 22/09/2016 by nessafrance

When I started this series about the châteaux in our area, I had no idea that so many of them exist. There are the obvious ones – Najac, Saint-Projet, Belcastel – but also less obvious ones. Some are just … Continue reading →

Posted in Châteaux, History, Places | Tagged Château des Bordes, Châteaux, French châteaux, Gourdon family, journées du patrimoine, Lot, patrimoine, Promilhanes, SW France | 11 Comments