Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Sorèze

The "Tour St. Martin" was part of the parish church Saint-Martin, that got destroyed during the during the Wars of Religion in 1573. After having smashed the naves and burned down the nearby monastery - it may have seemed too laborious for the Huguenot troops, to tear down the massive tower. So it was left as a ruin. The distance to Revel, where I would be picked up (and finish this walk for 2011), was only six kilometers, so I had time to "explore" the tower. There are still a lot of (mostly damaged) carvings inside the tower. They all date back to the 15th century - and a surprise - lots of them depict mermaids! Here are two mermaids holding a coat of arms. Well, that coat of arms of course got dismanteled by the Huguenots troops. This was probably the moment, when the left mermaid lost her head, but her right comrade is still very intact. I first had the impression, that she was blindfolded, but that is just a strand of hair and a cobweb. I will upload more mermaids from Sorèze later, but it will take some time..

The "Tour St. Martin" was part of the parish church Saint-Martin, that got destroyed during the during the Wars of Religion in 1573. After having smashed the naves - it may have seemed too laborious for the Huguenot troops, to tear down the massive tower as well. To the right a corner of the former abbey is to be seen. Following a leaflet, the abbey was founded in 754 by Pepin I of Aquitaine, what is hard to believe, as Louis the Pious´ son, was born about 4 decades later. The buildings of today were built after the monastery was burned down 1573, when St. Martin got destroyed as well. Now the spacious complex is named "l'abbaye-école de Sorèze", as Louis XVI founded a military school here in 1776, that existed upto 1991. The buildings now host a museum, a cutural center, the tourist office - and a very interesting hotel, in which I did not stay overnight. Next time.. Here are the websites: www.abbayeecoledesoreze.com/ hotels-francepatrimoine.fr/hotel/abbaye-ecole-de-soreze

Sorèze is a nice, little sleepy town, with quaint houses and a population of about 2500. It has a very long history, as a monastery was founded at this (formerly swampy) place already in 754. In a leaflet I picked up, I found out, that the abbey was founded by Pepin I of Aquitaine, what is hard to believe, as the son (and later archenemy) of Louis the Pious, was born about 4 decades later... Seen in the background is the tower of Saint-Martin, the former parish church. The church was destroyed during the Wars of Religion in 1573 - and all what is left is this "Tour St. Martin". When I reached the tourist office, I saw the australian guy, I had met in Castres: He was in a hurry, so I waved him a good-bye.