Rural French Village
Located about 12 kilometres south of Sarlat and strategically perched on the edge of a cliff, Domme was founded in 1281 by Philip The Bold (le Hardi). It shuffled back and forth between the English and French during the Hundred Years War often resulting in an almost complete change of citizenry. During the Wars of Religion, the village was considered an inpenetratable stronghold for the Catholics but, on a moonless night in 1588, Geoffroi de Vivans found an inventive way to infiltrate the walls. The cliff directly above the river was so steep it was considered impossible to climb and was left unguarded. One slip and a body would be hurtled hundreds of metres below. The captain of the Protestant forces led thirty men up the side and, when they started a commotion in the market square to divert the Catholic soldiers, the rest of the troops burst into town through the opened gates. The Protestants only held the town for four years but during that time did serious damage to the town including demolishing the church. They left when de Vivans became something of a turncoat and sold the town to the Catholics for 100,000 livres.
Log In: