Castelnau-sur-l'Auvignon
The Vía Podiensis
Castelnau-sur-l'Auvignon sits on a hilltop like every proper Gascon castelnau should, with ditches on three sides and defensive walls enclosing the old core. It's tiny -- about 150 people -- but this village punches well above its weight historically. A Chemin de Memoire et de la Resistance (Memory and Resistance Trail) now runs through it, with interpretive panels explaining what happened here in June 1944.
The medieval fabric is real: a castle dating from the 12th-13th centuries, the Romanesque church of Notre-Dame de la Nativite attached to it (you can spot the now-walled door that once connected them), and the classic layout of houses built against the inner ramparts. But much of what you see has been rebuilt, because on June 21, 1944, German troops from the 189th Infantry Division attacked this tiny village and nearly destroyed it. The battle killed 14 people and the square tower -- packed with weapons and ammunition -- caught fire and exploded, devastating much of the core.
Castelnau-sur-l'Auvignon is the only commune in the Gers to hold the Croix de Guerre 1939-1945. The story begins in April 1942, when the Victoire resistance network was established in the village schoolhouse. In November 1942, British SOE officer Major George Reginald Starr, code name "Hilaire," arrived and ran his Wheelwright network from the schoolteacher's residence for 19 months. By spring 1944, fighters from seven nationalities operated here, including Spanish Republican guerrillas of the 35th Brigade under Tomas Guerrero Ortega.
The network was compromised on June 20 when a Spanish detachment clashed with German soldiers near Francescas and one killed fighter carried notes mentioning Castelnau. The attack came the next morning. Walking through today, it's hard to imagine the carnage that took place on these quiet streets.
Accommodation in Castelnau-sur-l'Auvignon.
| Gîte et chambre d'hôtes Les Arroucasses 35**€ 12 |
Comments