The best walks and hikes around Préporché

The photo does not correspond to the St Honoré thermal baths but to the old Morvan hotel with the restaurant of the current casino in the glass roof.

We did this tour at the end of April, 10 degrees and rain. Good shoes are recommended.

You will notice that most castles are located in strategic defensive positions, which is not the case with this castle. But the region around the castle is crossed by the Dragne river which served as a natural defense on one side. The castle is privately owned, but can be admired from the main road.

Small picoresque stone village. There was once a bakery, today only a local art workshop/gallery serves as a tourist point.

Nièvre spa resort, pretty town center where there are many shops, cafes and restaurants.

The church of Préporché is placed under the name of Saint-Pierre, it dates from the 12th century, in a massive Romanesque style. Victim of the wars of religion, destroyed by the Huguenots in 1570, it was rebuilt in the 16th century. The building has a barlong plan and is completed by a square chapel. In 1872 the church was restored, the Romanesque facade was destroyed in 1920, it was rebuilt set back for road reasons. It is pierced with modern windows. The church is coated with Morvan granite and pink sandstone. The bell tower is rectangular in plan, it is imposing, its roof is gabled, it has a single bay on its four sides. It has a wooden statue of Saint Peter from the 14th century. Magnificent contemporary stained glass windows are to be discovered, eight stained glass windows, created by the artist Isabel Michel in 2000, their theme is the seasons, the nights, the burning bush and the angel of Saint Peter. Statue of Saint Peter, in wood covered with gray wash, traces of polychromy, it dates from the 14th century. The church would have been built at the end of the 11th century. We find some features from this period in the facade and the west gable, with its Romanesque portal with jambs decorated with a simple column. The building was restored in the 16th and 19th centuries. The apse has a flat bottom. The square bell tower is covered with a gable roof. Inside there is a beautiful 18th century altar, a rustic wooden gallery and a polychrome wooden statue of Saint Peter from the 14th century. Saint Peter and Saint Paul: They cannot be separated. They are the two pillars of the Roman Church, it is the Church of Peter and Paul, the Church of direct witnesses who shared the life of the Lord. Isabel Michel, victorious painter in the competition organized by the municipality, chose the theme of the four seasons to illustrate the stained glass windows of the church with the help of master glassmaker Guy Méliava.

Endless distant view to the west.

The Romans built the original spring there and this small town became a very important city. However, nothing remains of this city. The city was eventually sacked and left in ruins by barbarian invasions in the 5th century. In the 11th century, monks used the remains of Roman buildings to build their priory. The source itself was covered by a pond created by the monks. In summer, when the water level dropped, silt and mud were used by local peasants to cure rheumatism and skin problems. The baths were rediscovered in the 18th century when the dam was destroyed by a storm and the resulting flood exposed the springs below.