The Millevaches Plateau

Up until the end of the 19th century, the plateau of Millevaches was covered with moorland, punctuated with rare forests of deciduous trees.
Sheep were bred extensively there and used for their wool.

These moors of wind-beaten heather are very barren territories.
On days when the weather was fine, the men would leave to make money in other ways elsewhere, as masons, shoemakers or travelling wine merchants.
It was therefore the women who guarded the land.

The Regional Nature Park of Millevaches comprises 124 communes which work to preserve these varied environments.
The Maison du Parc, located in Millevaches, provides the public with information and helps them to understand these exceptional landscapes.
There are also information placards at key points of interest around the area.

The Millevaches plateau is sometimes referred to as "the water tower of France" and it is indeed here that many French rivers begin, including the Vézère, the Creuse, the Corrèze, and the Vienne, shown in the photo.

One of the most iconic and touristic sites of the Regional Nature Park is the bridge that crosses the Taurion, located in Sénoueix, in the Creuse region.
The locals refer to it as a Roman bridge but it actually appears to have been built in the 17th century.

As it was a threat to the environment, it was finally drained in 2019, enabling the quality and fauna of the Vienne river to be restored. The landscape has now returned to its original configuration but you can still make out the perimeter of where the artificial lake used to be.

The Moulin du Bourg Canal, in Saint-Merd-les-Oussines, is another example of how man has used the water. More than 2,952 feet (900 m) long, it brings water from the Vézère river to the mill.

Abandoned for nearly 30 years, it has now been reclaimed by nature. The canal has become a preferred breeding ground for brown trout and also for Littorella, a nationally protected amphibious plant, to grow.

A lack of maintenance of the canal banks has led to severe leaks that threaten this fragile ecosystem.
The Fondation du Patrimoine (Cultural Heritage Foundation) is helping to finance the restoration work of the Conservatoire d'Espaces Naturels du Limousin organization, who manage the site.

This work, undertaken in the fall of 2020, succeeded in saving a peat bog that was being flooded by the canal waters that were pouring into it. It also became a habitat for European otters to live, the animal that symbolizes the Millevaches Regional Nature Park.

The Vassivière Lake also represents man's development of the Millevaches plateau.

It is one of France's largest artificial lakes, spanning a surface area of 1,000 hectares. It was borne out of the creation of an EDF hydraulic dam, in the middle of the 20th century.

Located in a basin formed by the meandering tributaries of the Maulde river, it is formed of a landscape of islands and creeks that have earned it the nickname Little Canada.

Eymoutiers, in the Haute-Vienne, is the gateway to the Millevaches Regional Nature Park. A municipality with a cultural tradition, it commissioned the artist Christian Lapie to create a series of sculptures entitled L'infini Suspendu (Suspended Infinity): fifteen standing men who have been watching over the city since 2013.

Eymoutiers is the birth town of the artist Paul Rebeyrolle. In homage to his local roots, a space has been dedicated to him since 1995.
This 1,000 sqm art center houses a permanent collection of more than 80 works showcasing the work of the artist, who was inspired by the landscapes of the region.

In Tarnac, in Corrèze, little old historical houses built in local granite, perhaps belonging to the former priory, have been restored.
They have been transformed into exhibition spaces through the Town Hall initiative and with support from the Fondation du Patrimoine (Cultural Heritage Foundation).