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Featured property
The Old Walnut Mill Delightful, spacious 2 bedroom 19th Century Loire Valley house for rent in the peaceful village of Barrou in the department of Indre et Loire,France. The village’s location halfway between the regional capitals of Tours and Poitiers makes it an ideal base to explore the Loire Valley and Vienne. Click here to visit owner's web site
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The village of Montrésor is located in the department of Indre-et-Loire, 60 km southeast of Tours and 8 km north of Loches. Montrésor is listed as one of the 'Most beautiful villages in France', it is indeed a very pretty place - these awards are given to villages in France (151 at the last count) that share the same passion and ambition to promote and recognize the quality of their heritage, history, culture and their desire to conserve their individuality and authenticity. Down on the river Indrois you will find the old water mill and the lavoir.
In the lower town the market place has its ancient timbered 'Halle aux Grains'
The delightful
Chateau de Montresor sits on its prominent
position overlooking the village while the in the heart of
the upper village, there is what seems an overly grand
church dedicated to St. John the Baptist.
Built between 1519 & 1541 in the Gothic style but with a
Renaissance portal. The college at the bottom of the nave,
founded by Imbert
de Bastarnay houses his tomb, it
has three magnificent white marble effigies. Inside there is a 17th
century painting 'the Annunciation
by Philippe de Champaigne. The legend of Montrésor.
http://www.experienceloire.com/
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There is a local legend surrounding the
name of Montrésor, a popular version of which tells
that many many years ago when a handsome prince and his
servant stopped at the rocks near the village, exhausted
from much travelling, the servant dreamed of marrying a
beautiful princess, far above his station. He woke to
find a lizard crawling over his master's face. As he went to
kill it, the prince awoke and realised the lizard had a
message for them. It disappeared into a hole in the rock to
reappear a moment later covered in gold dust. Opening the
hole the two men discovered gold beyond their wildest
dreams. The prince was able to build a castle on top of the
rock, calling it Mon Trésor and putting his servant in
charge. The servant was now rich enough to marry the
beautiful princess of his dreams and they all lived happily
ever after. A less romantic, if not more plausible meaning
for the name is that one of the original lords of the
village was treasurer of the cathedral at Tours so the place
was known as "mons thesauri," or the mount of the treasurer
eventually becoming Montrésor.