Domme is an almost perfect bastide: a walled village sitting on a hillside.

(credits: by Luc Viatour, August 30, 2012)

The Bastides: the birth of French Democracy

Between 1220 and 1372 about 700 bastides, also referred to as new towns, were built to colonize the wild and fertile lands of Southwest France.  They grew as small, self-sufficient  hamlets which eventually had to become fortified for   protection. The following picture is the oldest and simplest that we saw: bastide Couvertoirade.

Compare that one to a more successful bastide of Eymet.

These bastides enabled the rulers and those wealthy enough to own land to centrally locate their population, protect them, and to make money by raising taxes on their production. BUT, most importantly, it converted the serfs into freemen! Hence the birth of Democracy in France from the 13th century.

As the bastides grew in popularity and goods, they needed stronger walls and banding together inside them. Many were built on minimally established sites or on trading routes and were open to passersby and local farmers.

They were planned to put some order into society….and did just that.

The bastides all had a central square lined with arcades that acted as a commercial hub and market. As you can see in the first picture, the arcades were rough hewn, but,  for the 12^th and 13^th century, they were magnificent. The buildings themselves were 2 rooms deep: the first room the store, the second living quarters and the arcade for the display of wares.

This is the square in Villereal. Since churches were not allowed on the square but were to be, in addition to the religious center, the Keep and fall-back in case of a serious attack. The façade is built as a fortress topped with large open areas where weapons and hot oil could be dispersed. Standing in front we could see the stanchion openings where the chains would either raise or lower the ramp to cover the moat….now filled with stones.

Although Villereal started in the 12^th century, it must have done very well to support the family that built this castle in the 15^th century.

Although noting the solid wall around the castle, the marauding continued. Before we began this journey, we decided to locate near Bergerac, both for the wineries and the bastides. The beautiful Chateau Des Vigiers in Monestier, France was our residence for 5 days.

The ideal situation: the Chateau has 2 restaurants, 2 bars and is located on A hill-top with woods and a golf course. Busy days and lovely evenings.

The next morning we drove to Montpazier.

Notice how much bigger and more elaborate the following site is. Reason: in the 12^th century the King of England married Eleanor of Aquitaine. And they established  this village….in spite of the problems between the French and English. This next picture shows more of the royal grandeur in the elegant town-houses.

Notice some of the 2^nd floor windows. We had lunch straight across the plaza under an umbrella and watched mini-vans plus horse drawn carts  bring produce and wine.

On our way back we stopped at this formal  bastide, fully self-contained. The Chateau was built in the 16^th century and owned by the same family for over 600 years. The Chateau had a deep moat surrounding it. We also found a trap door for emergency escape in the basement….swimming out through the moat would be fine…except for the alligators.

One look at those lush vineyards reveals the success of this estate. We made sure of it by sampling in the tasting room. We stopped at the Lalinde bastide that was located right on the Dordogne River on our way to the hotel.

It was well protected by the strong currents.  The water levels could vary by as much as 50 feet and it was very swift  at any level. We headed back to our Chateau to celebrate with a marvelous dinner and a clink of glasses for this wonderful discovery of the Bastides!

12/5/2013