Limousin
Limousin (; ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. Named after the old province of Limousin, the administrative region was founded in 1960. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienne. On 1 Jan ...
: ''La Sotarrana'') is a commune in the west-central French department of
Creuse
Creuse (; or ) is a department in central France named after the river Creuse. After Lozère, it is the second least populated department in France. It is bordered by Indre and Cher to the north, Allier and Puy-de-Dôme to the east, Cor ...
.
Geography
La Souterraine is an area of farming and
light industry
Light industry are Industry (economics), industries that usually are less Capital intensity, capital-intensive than heavy industry, heavy industries and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consum ...
, comprising the town and a few small hamlets. It is situated some west of
Guéret
Guéret (; Occitan: ''Garait'') is a commune and the prefecture of the Creuse department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in central France.
Geography
Guéret is a light industrial town, the largest in the department, with a big woodland a ...
, at the junction of the D1, D912, D951 and the N145 roads. It is also served by a TER railway link.
The small river Sédelle, a tributary of the
Creuse
Creuse (; or ) is a department in central France named after the river Creuse. After Lozère, it is the second least populated department in France. It is bordered by Indre and Cher to the north, Allier and Puy-de-Dôme to the east, Cor ...
, flows through the town.
The sources of the Benaize, a tributary of the Anglin, and the Brame, a tributary of the
Gartempe
The Gartempe () is a French river, long. It is a left tributary of the Creuse, which it joins in La Roche-Posay. Its source is in the municipality of Peyrabout.
Among its tributaries are the Anglin, the Brame, the Semme and the Ardour.
T ...
, are both in the commune.
History
There is evidence of pre-
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
occupation here, attested by the discovery of
Stone Age
The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...
tools and a
menhir
A menhir (; from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the European middle Br ...
. Remains of Roman villas and temples have been unearthed. In medieval times, a church and fortified walls were built. The name of the town, translating as ‘subterranean’, comes from the underground parts of the church, the
crypt
A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...
.
Population
Sights
* The church dating from the 11th century, with its Roman crypt.
* The 15th-century
Manorhouse
A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...
de Châteaurenaud.
* The 13th-century gate, the Porte de St.Jean, and the rest of the ramparts.
* A
feudal
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...
motte
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or Bailey (castle), bailey, surrounded by a protective Rampart (fortificati ...
, circular tower and the castle at Bridiers.
* The 18th-century chapel of the hospital.
* The ancient chapel of Sainte-Eutrope.
* The 14th-century church at Bussière-Madeleine.