Pérouges - A beautiful village makes a come-back

Several of our friends told us we really had to visit Pérouges, a lovely medieval  village that was rescued from destruction in 1911 by the Vieux Pérouges committee and Eduard Herriot, then President of the Republic of France and long-time mayor of Lyon.  Archaeologists, artists and other notables have taken part in the restoration, which continues today.   

The city wall is hidden by all the vegetation.

Pérouges is a popular site for movie makers.  (If you’ve seen “The Three Musketeers", you’ve seen Pérouges.)  There’s a good chance you’ve seen bits of it in TV programs, too, since it has become a favorite site for producers as well. 



Standing high on the hill, this village is proud to boast that no lord has ever reigned over it although it was fought over several times.  (More on that later.)   It finally became a part of France through the treaty of Lyon in 1601.

The village was probably founded by a group of people from Perugia in Italy.  (Hence the name.)  In its heyday, in the 13^th century, it was a center of farming and linen weaving with a population of about 1,500.  Mechanization dealt a major blow in the 19^th century, and the population dwindled to about 90.  At the beginning of the 20^th century only about 8 people remained.

Today Pérouges  is once again a perfect example of a Middle Ages town, complete with surrounding wall, narrow, cobblestone streets, two large, impressive gates, and a fortress.  The population today is around 856 with about 85 living within the walls.

Interior gate with fortress tower and village flag.

We had lunch at this restaurant on the square.

Street leading from the square.

What's left of the main gate.

One of those gates, la Porte d’en Bas (lower gate), has a great story!  The village was under siege in 1468, and it became apparent that these wooden gates were not going to hold.  So the villagers built a rock wall behind the gates, and when the attackers did break through the gates they were confronted with a rather substantial rock wall.  The attackers were so angry that they ripped the gates off their hinges and took them away as booty.  The people of Pérouges installed a sign over the gate saying:

Perogia Perogiarum. Urbs imprenabilis.
Coquinati Delphinati Voluront prehendere illam
Ast non potuerunt
Attamen importaverunt portas, gonos, cum serris et degringolaverunt cum illis.
Diabolus importat illos!

Roughly translated as:

Pérouges of the Perougians, impregnable town.
The Dauphiné scoundrels tried to take her
But could not do so.
However, they took the doors, the hinges and the locks and fell with them.
Let the Devil take them!              

Here's the gate.  The sign is on top of the gate.

But, enough background, here are some more pictures to give you an idea of why Herriot and others felt it was worth saving, and why it is one of The Most Beautiful Villages of France.

That's part of the church in the background.

David and the village flag (with a dragon) at the top of a tower.  The view of the countryside was lovely!

View of the main gate from inside the wall.

Gardens and ruins of the maison des princes (of Savoy).  Now housing a museum.

Village square.

Shop fronts with apartments above.  The place with the reddish sign is where the Grenier a Sel was located. (Sale of salt was a state monopoly and heavily taxed.  One of the many factors leading to the revolution.)

Our friends were right - It was definitely worth the short drive from Lyon!