Peyreleau and Le Rozier
Without river La Jonte flowing through them, you wouldn’t tell Peyreleau from Le Rozier. Twin cities also mark the frontier between Lozère and Aveyron departments. And it sure dates way back. About a thousand years ago, here was the borderline between the Rutenes territory (Aveyron gauls after which the Rouergue was named) and the Gabalcs tribe area.
Etimology is quite a science, since it allows us to understand how both villages were to be named, in the XIth century. Peyreleau comes out of “Castrum Petralevis”, when Le Rozier obviously owes its name to the wonderful roses grown in the ancient benedictine priory.

Compeyre
Compeyre stands well upstreams, which gave it a location second to none for the wine business in the Tarn valley. Where else could the merchants stock their wine, gathered here from the prodigious terrace vine-yards all around ? And there were terraces everywhere. There still are some here and there – and maybe will you spot some superposed cellars in some of the secret alleys of the village.

The old-time recipe to dring Compeyre wine was to add rebarbe to it. What’s rebarbe, if not a local cheese made out of smelly old roquefort mixed with liquor… Happily enough, the recipe seems to have been lost for quite a while.

Peyrelade Castle How proud does it stand, that old Peyrelade fortress ! Built up on the Tarn, it remains as a memory of the old times, when the very first inhabitants settled there during the IXth and Xth centuries.

Templar village
The Grand Hotel is a perfect start for a templar and hospitalier orders research. Both orders laid a powerful print on the whole Larzac area for over 150 years. Their legacy may be admired in such strongholds as La Cavalerie, La Couvertoirade, Ste Eulalie-de-Cernon, La-Viala-du-Pas-de-Jon and the St-Jean-d’Alcas fort.
Roaming through the La Cavalerie streets, you’ll find gorgeous hotels, XVIIth century oak doors, and all kinds of ancient little shops. The XVIIIth century church has actually been built on the remains of the templar church – first built when the templars took hold of the town back in 1154.
The french religion wars did not spare La Cavalerie. As a matter of fact, they happened to be terribly heinous in southern Aveyron. When a protestant army took the town in 1568, most of La Cavalerie citizens were to be burned alive.

Architecture caussenarde

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