Tourtoirac's Local Heritage

 

The definition of Local Heritage is wide, even more than for National Heritage. When one thinks of the local heritage of Tourtoirac, the Abbey comes immediately to mind. A building witness to the History of France for ten centuries, with some little known periods and full of questions, a central presence within the village, a focus of cultural visits and the hypothesis that some secrets may be revealed by more detailed studies: there one has the definition of 'heritage'.

For local heritage 'le petit patrimoine' is more complicated. All which constitutes the past of Tourtoirac is part of the 'smaller' history, but 'small' should not be pejorative. Of course there are the buildings, wash houses and areas, the stone huts (bories) used by farm workers, ovens, towers, crosses...but also the less concrete evidence: local stories, recipes, games...which at one time or another have told the story of the village, and so the traces remain in the form of stone or words.

This is why almost everything can be viewed from the angle of local heritage. And, as we have chosen to eliminate nothing, this inventory is nowhere near finished. Begun in May 2015 by Jean Covre-Sangla, a student from the IUT at Perigueux, it is now for us to continue this on with you, the inhabitants of Tourtoirac and the friends of our thousand year old commune.

So...if you have any information and anecdotes relating to our local village history, if in your home there is part of the construction or a story that seems interesting to you, if you have any documents relating to local events – we wish to benefit from your knowledge, stories and evidence. And...if you have any stories, photos, documents or parts of your building, the origin of which you are unsure – you can also contact us.

Finally, from what actually know of the history of our Abbey, it is clear that evidence, fact and knowledge quickly disappears or fades – so, to preserve the story of Tourtoirac we need you.

Thank you to everyone for your help and participation.