Bathed by the waters of L'Urugne, criss-crossed by canals, La Canourgue is considered as the small Venice of Lozere.
In the 11th century, it was home to an abbey protected by the Dukes of Gévaudan.
La Canourgue also contains the remains of a fountain supposedly built in Gaul and the ruins of an ancient fort of Saint-Amans. Excavations in the area in 1829 uncovered vases and a large number of pieces of Roman pottery, a stone millstone and figuline clay, which suggests that there was a pottery factory there in Roman times.
Canals were built in the Middle Ages to allow people to use the power of water. The millers were followed by the weavers who made cadis, then the tanners and the leather workers whose work made the town famous.
Water, the symbolic element of La Canourgue, rushes under the houses before reappearing a little further on and gushing out of the many fountains.
In La Canourgue, one must appreciate the old center with its Renaissance houses and its porches, the place au Blé and its half-timbered house, the clock tower decorated with its astonishing weathervane, the remarkable Romanesque church, the Callongue street with old shops from the Middle Ages, the place du Pré Commun and its fountain of Griffou or the mill of the 15th century, the last representative of the twenty-five mills which marked out the Urugne river
Ten minutes walk from the village, don't forget to visit the wooded site of the Saint-Frézal Chapel and enjoy the benefits of its healing spring.
Also to be seen in La Canourgue, the "Foire aux célibataires" at Easter.
Aubrac - Lot - Causse" Tourist Office
24 rue de la Ville,
48500 La Canourgue
Tel : 04 66 32 83 67
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