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“I was born here in 1922, in this very street which has
changed names many times over the years, today rue
Jacques-Manchotte. My mother owned the village jewellery
shop and though my profession took me to Bordeaux and
Bergerac, I came back to Belvès regularly. I retired here
permanently to create this little museum
H
, dedicated to
Hurdy-Gurdy replicas that I build.The most ancient model
is a reproduction based on medieval engravings. Back in
the eighties, tourists would tell me that they had found the
village ‘by chance’, so in 1990, I wrote a history of Belvès
called The Pope’s Town, a second and third edition of the
guide have since been published.”
A herdsman in search of a missing cow once came upon a stone
statue of the Virgin Mary in the bushes, near a stream.The clergy
of Belvès brought the statue back in procession, to the priory's
church of Notre-Dame.The next day, the statue had disappeared
from the altar… It was later found back in the very same bush
where it had been originally found.A chapel was then built on the
site and given the Occitan name“Capelou”. Every year since, for
over 800 years, a huge pilgrimage draws thousands of pilgrims
to Our Lady of Capelou
I
.
“My mother owned
a jewellery shop”
Georges Rebière,
creator of the “Black
Périgord Organistrumand Hurdy-GurdyMuseum’’
TheMystery of the Statue
©Titia Carrizey-Jasick
©Titia Carrizey-Jasick
©Titia Carrizey-Jasick
© Jean-Marc Barrère
Underground caves right beneath the village center? This
is the only such example in the Périgord region. A guided
tour of Belvès’s troglodytic dwellings
F
, gives an insight
of the villagers’ living conditions from the XIIIth to the
XVIIIth centuries. A tour of the eight chambers takes
45 minutes. The Hôtel de Commarque
G
, is also worth
a visit. The owners of this XVIth century castle have
recently uncovered and restored a significant series of
mural paintings including a scene depicting the history of
Belvès in 1470 and the “Nine Worthies” in the attic.
Treasure at the Heart of the Village
A LITTLE BACKGROUND
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24+1 VILLAGES OF PÉRIGORD
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