Collonges-la-Rouge: the Beautiful Red City

You can see them from afar, they are typically French in style... These are the Towers of Collonges which culminate in the distance between the chestnut and walnut trees, no less than 25 turrets are visible.
 Under its slate and lauze roofs you will find manor houses or modest thatched cottages as well as the large church and the covered market which faces it.

Collonges-la-Rouge is home to impressive residences and historical monuments from the 15th and 16th centuries such as the Ramade House of Friac avec ses deux tours de guet et la Mermaid House with its vaulted porch, period interior and mermaid sculpture. When you arrive at the entrance to the village you will see the Vassinhac castle with its elegant mullioned windows or the castle of Benge and its Renaissance window.

The beautiful Romanesque church of Saint-Pierre has a splendid limestone tympanum which contrasts with its red sandstone walls and an imposing Romanesque gabled bell tower. Its construction dates back to the 11th century and you will see its two naves where Protestants and Catholics celebrated services simultaneously. Collonges was an important stop for pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela.

Next to the church is the Chapel of the Black Penitents . Elle date du 14e siècle et était destinée à la sépulture de certaines familles locales, comme les Maussac. Observez les armoiries de la famille en haut d’une porte murée et sur une clé de voûte de la chapelle. Il faut attendre le In the middle of the 17th century and until the end of the 19th century, it became the meeting place of the Pénitents Noirs, a brotherhood of lay people dressed and hooded in black.