Our Blog - Villeréal, France

Villeréal is a bastide founded in 1267 by Alphonse de Poitiers. A "bastide" is a small town built around a central square out from which scales a grid-like street system surrounded by farmland worked by the townspeople. Most of these are in the southwest, and the majority of them were built in the two centuries from 1200 to 1400. Many were set up in order to establish a more modern society in what was, at the time, a rather wild and inhospitable part of Europe. The establishment of bastides was a way for rulers to bring the population together in centers that were easier to control and defend than isolated farms. Since they were built at a time of relative peace and prosperity, before the start of the Hundred Years' War, the early bastides were not fortified. However, once Anglo-French relations deteriorated into a state of on/off conflict, many bastides were fortified.

We didn't spend a lot of time there, since it was really just a lunch stop and it was REALLY hot that day. We took time to go through the Église Notre Dame and walk around the central square.

Église Notre Dame was built about the same year as the bastide and is in the Southern Gothic style. It served as the last defense of the population of the fortified town, so the walls are thick and fitted with buttresses. There are towers on each side, and you can still see the defensive arrow-slits in the tower on the left. At that time, it was surrounded by a moat and accessed by a drawbridge but these were removed at the beginning of the 14th century when the town was enclosed by the English.

The inside is fairly plain, with a few specific exceptions. Above the entry door, is quite a nice balcony. The 17th-century coffered altarpiece was restored in 1994. In one of the side chapels was this really lovely wooden altar. Many of the panels were painted in green with gilded wooden carvings.

I thought the stained-glass windows were especially nice, and depicted biblical scenes. The first one shows the story of Moses (1 full plus 4 closer-up ones), and the second shows events in the life of Saint Francis (also 1 full plus 4 smaller)

I mentioned that the design of the bastide is a grid-like system around a central square, and this is that central square. In the middle of the square is a 14th-century market hall. It was rebuilt, preserving older elements, around 1515. The top floor housed a consular room, where the notables of the bastide met until 1908. Around the square are half-timbered houses with a gallery underneath where the shops are.

And you can tell that a place is VERY puppy-friendly when they have a bar-a-toutou out front. "Toutou" is a term of affection for your family dog, and some places will put out dog bowls with water for dogs, and a few of the pet stores have dog food in one of the bowls.