Saint André par la Corniche - Road bike circuit #13

4 points of interest

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  Architecture

  The village of St André de Valborgne

  As you stroll along the quay above the river, you can still see the handsome bourgeois houses dating from the silk boom. If you look around, former spinning mills and industrial buildings dedicated to silk farming can still be seen in the landscape. A little lower down, opposite the 16th century château, you can listen to
  Bernadette Lafont on the Camisard saga in and after 1702. As you reach the square again, quench your thirst at the fountain and have a look inside the Romanesque church (12th century).

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  Water

  One spring, five fountains

  This fountain is one of Saint-André’s five public fountains, all of which are supplied by the same spring (its water is thus the same as in the Fontaine du Griffon). Before houses were connected to mains water, there were many more fountains on this side of the quay.

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  History

  Saint-Roman de Tousque

  The village of St-Roman de Tousque, which is part of the municipality of Moissac Vallée Française, owes its development to its location on the Corniche des Cévennes road, which facilitated the expansion of trade. In the 17th and 18th century, the village had a large number of artisans and shopkeepers. During the Camisard War, a company of the King’s troops was stationed here. The Camisard Lafleur came to sing psalms in front of the Catholic church, accompanied by six men. Believing themselves to be under attack, the soldiers barricaded themselves in, leaving the Camisards free to torch the church. The 19th century saw several Protestant commemorations.
  
  It was in St-Roman de Tousque that the hymn of the Cevenol protestants, La Cévenole, was sung for the first time, during the bicentenary of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, in 1885.

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  Architecture

  Cévenol housing

  Houses normally occupied the centre of the cultivated area. Built from schist, they were tall and narrow to save the level ground for crops. When houses needed expanding, people either added another storey to existing buildings or built a new wing parallel to the contour lines. Hamlets were always constructed near water sources and often at mid-slope because the valley floors are susceptible to brutal flooding as well as difficult to access. Good exposure to sunlight was not a decisive factor in choosing sites.