A Sunday in Château-Chervix, the city of stones where forests are worth gold

Château-Chervix has changed its name several times. Baptized “Chervix except Château then” Chervix-la-Chaumière “by the Revolutionaries, it became Château-Chervix at the end of the 17th century. White flint axes certainly coming from Poitou, terracotta spools used to unwind weaving threads, saws, coins and other old tools, were unearthed under burial mounds or in fields and show how strong was the economic activity.

Viscounts like it

Illustrations Château-Chervix Confinement Thierry Sallaud
In this sector located to the south of Haute-Vienne, the Viscounts of Limoges had several castles built to strengthen the military protection of this region. That of Chervix is nothing more than a ruin. All that remains is the tower which, from its height of 32 meters, dominates the village. In 1553, the building was destroyed by a fire caused by a tragedy of madness. Accused of money trafficking, the father-in-law of Lord François de Coignac was one day taken to prison in Angoulême.

So that royal justice does not apply to his person, he seeks the skills of Bernardière, priest of bad life. The latter advises him to the lord to kill the inhabitants of the castle to prevent any revelation. His wife, his children, the servants are murdered. Bernardière was arrested, imprisoned, sentenced to death and executed in Limoges. De Coignac, a refugee in Switzerland, was beheaded there. The castle has never been rebuilt. As for the tower, it to Chateau-Chervix, what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris. Located in the center of the village, it also has friends. The association of Friends of the Tower has given itself the mission of promoting the heritage of this town, one of the largest in the department.

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There was an important abbey in this region. Built in the 12th century by Etienne, abbot of Saint-Augustin in Limoges, it was between 1371 and 1629, a privilege. No one knows when and why the monks left the scene. The surviving church was destroyed during the Revolution. The region once had tile factories and many mills. Most of them were located on the Breuilh. Chateau-Chervix is located on a watershed.

The rivers of the southern part of Puy de Bar feed the Garonne basin. That of the north, that of the Loire. The 700 hectare Fayat forest is very popular with walkers. These woods are full of aurières. In the 1920s, the Fagassière mines employed up to 90 miners.

In Puy de Bar, there is a chapel. It was built on the initiative of two sisters, Anne Beaulieu and Sophie Berthet, born Boulenger and from the locality of La Buchille. They had promised to erect a chapel on the highest point of the family estate if they perceived a heritage they hoped to touch. It is located at an altitude of 534 m.

The pond of Puychaumartin is a popular place in summer. The fitted swimming sports equipment is part of the sports facility. Nice for a picnic.

Follow the Fayat Forest trail
Château-Chervix: take the A20 towards Brive, exit 40 towards Pierre-Buffière. At Pierre Buffière take the D19. Departure: 1.7 km from Chateau-Chervix, towards Coussac-Bonneval, RD70. Park on the roadside at Croix Saint-Martial. Length 14.4 km (3 h 30)
1/Take the road then the path that climbs towards Puy de Bar. In front of the water tower, a round trip is possible to admire the chapel (private property). Otherwise turn right and continue to the farm. Continue on the road until the crossroads.
2 /Turn left. In the bend, continue to the left on the path in front of a farm. Cross the forest of Fayat, then at 100 m turn right towards Barabant and La Fagassière (gold mines operated until 1990).
3/ Turn left, cross the causeway of the pond and go up towards the village of Mars. Cross the village. At the RD70, turn left for 30 m then turn right into the forest path for 1.2 km

4/ Take a path on the left which crosses the forest then join the municipal road. When you get there, take it to the left and then immediately to the right the path which plunges again into the forest.
5/ At Les Planchettes, turn left on the road that goes up to the starting point
Admire: The castle of Montintin from the end of the 19th century, the old gold mines of Fagassière, the Roman road with its remains. The old villages inhabited by tile makers.