Domme (; ) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; oc, Dordonha ) is a large rural department in Southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, it is name ...

department in

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by ...

in southwestern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. It is sometimes called the ''"Acropolis of the Périgord"''.

Geography

Domme is above sea level on a rocky outcrop overlooking the

river. With its trapezoid city plan, Domme is a

bastide Bastides are fortified new towns built in medieval Languedoc, Gascony, Aquitaine, England and Wales during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, although some authorities count Mont-de-Marsan and Montauban, which was founded in 1144, as the fir ...

(a fortified medieval town) adapted to the surrounding terrain, and thus falling short of the rectangular city plan characteristic to bastides. Today a member of the association ''

Les Plus Beaux Villages de France ''Les Plus Beaux Villages de France'' (meaning “the most beautiful villages of France”) is an independent association created in 1982 for the promotion of the tourist appeal of small rural villages with a rich cultural heritage. As of Septem ...

'' ("The Most Beautiful Villages of France"), Domme has two public spaces of medieval origin: the commercial ''Place de la Halle'' ("Market Hall Square") and the ''Place de La Rode'', where the

breaking wheel The breaking wheel or execution wheel, also known as the Wheel of Catherine or simply the Wheel, was a torture method used for public execution primarily in Europe from antiquity through the Middle Ages into the early modern period by breakin ...

entertained the public. There were two other notable locations in the village: the fair and the

moneyer A moneyer is a private individual who is officially permitted to mint money. Usually the rights to coin money are bestowed as a concession by a state or government. Moneyers have a long tradition, dating back at least to ancient Greece. They bec ...

's house.This section was a free translation of th
French article as of June 5 2011
/ref>

History

Founded as a stronghold in 1281 by

Philip the Bold Philip II the Bold (; ; 17 January 1342 – 27 April 1404) was Duke of Burgundy and ''jure uxoris'' Count of Flanders, Artois and Burgundy. He was the fourth and youngest son of King John II of France and Bonne of Luxembourg. Philip II w ...

following his campaign along the Dordogne river, Domme obtained the privilege of minting its own currency. In 1307, many Knights Templar were imprisoned in Domme during the trial against them, of which hundreds of Templar graffiti still bear witness. They used a code system involving series of geometric figures: the octagon represented the Grail, the triangle surmounted by a cross represented

Golgatha Calvary ( la, Calvariae or ) or Golgotha ( grc-gre, Γολγοθᾶ, ''Golgothâ'') was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where Jesus was said to have been crucified according to the canonical Gospels. Since at least the early mediev ...

, the square represented the Temple, and the circle represented the imprisonment. Similar inscriptions (of disputed authenticity) have been found in other towns such as

Loches Loches () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department, central France. It is situated southeast of Tours by road, on the left bank of the river Indre. History Loches (the Roman ''Leucae'') grew up around a monastery founded about 500 by St ...

Gisors Gisors () is a commune of Normandy, France. It is located northwest from the centre of Paris. Gisors, together with the neighbouring communes of Trie-Château and Trie-la-Ville, form an urban area of 13,915 inhabitants (2018). This urban are ...

, and

Chinon Chinon () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. The traditional province around Chinon, Touraine, became a favorite resort of French kings and their nobles beginning in the late 15th and early 16th centur ...

. During the Hundred Years' War, the bastide was coveted by the English who first took the town in 1347 and repeatedly changed rulers throughout the war until 1437 when it finally fell under French rule again. The

Wars of Religion A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...

brought new turmoil. Protestants took the city in 1588 by climbing the cliffs at night to open the gates. A short success, as the Protestant captain had to hand the bastide in which he was entrenched back to the Catholics in 1592. The city then witnessed popular revolts ('' Jacquerie des Croquants'') in 1594 and 1637. Domme prospered during the seventeenth century only to decline thereafter, which greatly facilitated its preservation in modern time.

Population

Points of interest

Domme is famous for its fortifications, which were completed by 1310. The Porte des Tours with the main entrance loads to two drum-shaped towers of stone on the east and west part of the wall. The walls, first completed in 1310, contain two more gates. The ''halle'', first erected in the 17th century and rebuilt in 1954, faces towards the marketplace, the Place de la Halle.''Domme''
John Reps Bastide Collection, Cornell University Library The Maison du Gouverneur, on the opposite side of the Place de la Halle, is a fortress-like building with tower and turrets, first built in the 15th century and expanded in the 17th.''Domme - a beautiful Dordogne town set high above the river''
North of the dordogne

In movies

The village, including the church and the ramparts, served as a shooting location for ''Le Tatoué'' by Denys de La Patellière with

Jean Gabin Jean Gabin (; 17 May 190415 November 1976) was a French actor and singer. Considered a key figure in French cinema, he starred in several classic films including ''Pépé le Moko'' (1937), '' La grande illusion'' (1937), ''Le Quai des brumes'' ...

and

Louis de Funès Louis Germain David de Funès de Galarza (; 31 July 1914 – 27 January 1983) was a French actor and comedian. He is France's favourite actor, according to a series of polls conducted since the late 1960s, having played over 150 roles in fil ...

in 1968.

Notable residents

Christiaan Cornelissen Christiaan Gerardus Cornelissen (1864–1942) was a Dutch syndicalist writer, economist, and trade unionist. Further reading Christianus Gerardus Cornelisseni* ttp://hdl.handle.net/10622/ARCH00340 Archief Christiaan Cornelissen International In ...

, born in 1864 in Bois-le-Duc, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...