April in Murat

 

 

On one beautiful April afternoon we took a drive through the mountains and valleys of the Auvergne region and discovered the little town called Murat. Small towns in this region are interesting because they are like architectural and sociological time capsules. The towns are comprised of buildings, art, and streetscapes that both engage and educate you about life and its priorities from another time. Although medieval towns like Murat have been updated for modern times to meet modern needs, travelers can appreciate the old stone buildings that are a wonder of engineering ingenuity and artistic creativity. (The building with turrets is a 16th century mansion called Maison de la Faune.)

 

This picturesque medieval and Renaissance town is built onto the basaltic rock of Bonnevie, which towers over the historic center, and is surrounded by two other volcanic mountains: the Bredons Rock and the Chastel-sur-Murat Rock. In the Middle Ages, Murat was a fortified town and a major road hub, which encouraged trade. Many fairs and markets were held there.

 

The entrance to Murat leads directly to the center of town where the city hall, cafés, hotels, and apartment buildings provide amenities to residents and visitors alike. Further up the hill lay the shops and the medieval church. 

 

 The City Hall and Office of Tourism stand majestically at one end of the central city square while a monument to the ending of slavery stands about 100 yards at the other. War memorials are usually placed in the center part of a town. This memorial is the first of its kind that I've seen in France.                                  

 

    The Tribunal was a former Dominican teachers convent built in the 17th century. (It is located next to the church.) Fire destroyed it in 1771 but it was reconstructed in the style of Louis XV (1715-74). During the revolution (1789-99), it became the tribunal of Murat and would remain so for the next three centuries. Two notable little niches situated to both sides of the round window are characteristic of the Louis XIII style (1610-43).  

The buildings in Murat are constructed with local volcanic rock. Three kinds of this hard, gray stone are used extensively throughout the town: basalt, trachyte, and phonolithe for slate roofs. These buildings and the fountain pictured here go back to the Renaissance.

    

            

 

The Collegiate Church of Our Lady of the Olive Trees (Notre-Dame-des-Oliviers) was built between the 12th and the 14th centuries with statues and altarpieces made in the 17th and 19th centuries.

 

Here is a traditional knife shop. The knife (couteau) was an indispensable tool for defense and cutting food and materials. Legend has it that the Auvergne crusaders brought back knives from the East.  During the Middle Ages adults possessed a knife for eating and for doing multiple daily tasks. Since the 13th century Thiers in central France has been the chief  knife-making center for the country where 70 percent of the instruments are sharpened and sold. In the early 20th century, housewives bought their knives separately because they were not considered part of basic cutlery as they are today.

 

The Blessed Mother holds a prominent place in France and can be seen almost everywhere. In Murat, a statue of Our Lady of Haute-Auvergne is placed on top of a prominent hill that provides a natural enclosure on one side of the town.

A 16th century house with a stone staircase.

 

Apartment buildings are sited along the sides of the main square with a bus transit stop located in the middle. Apartments in France are typically bought and sold rather than rented as they are in the USA. However, the big challenge for these buildings is to provide parking for the residents' cars. Small walking towns can make access to and from the places that accommodate the essentials of daily life reduce the number of cars.

 Balconies and open windows and shutters allow people to look out their windows in a more obvious way. I've become intrigued by these scenes and sneek a snap of my camera on this woman surveying the town center from her window. By the way, windows in France don't have screens, so they make hanging out the window easier. Of course, these beautiful windows invite insects inside.

 Resources

https://www.france-voyage.com/tourism/murat-167.htm