- Albi, Carcassonne and Dordogne -

St Cirq Lapopie 2

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Below the fortress, the village streets lead down to fortified gates. Many historic houses have stone or half-timbered fronts going back to the 13th-16th centuries. The houses are narrow and have steep tiled roofs. The gabled houses fronting on the street are separated by a narrow space called an entremi, which carried away rainwater and waste from sinks and latrines.

The small St-Cirq Lapopie cemetery and chapel  (Right)

Some street names retain their association with the crafts that once were responsible for the prosperity of Saint-Cirq Lapopie. Hide merchants in the Rue de la Pélissaria, metalworkers in the Rue Payrolerie; and boxwood turners, or roubinétaïres, with workshops producing button moulds, trenchers, goblets and spigots for casks.

Many painters came to live and work in Saint-Cirq Lapopie. First the Post-Impressionist Henri Martin, then the Surrealists. The poet, André Breton, moved to the village and declared he would never want to live anywhere else.

The visit to St-Cirq Lapopie continues on the next page.
Please click on the 'Next' button (lower right).