Slate-Clad Houses of La Salvetat-sur-Agout

It's worth driving to the place here. Nice cafes provide you with fresh energy

Salvetat is not only sparkling water, one of the best-selling in France, owned by the Danone group, and whose source is located in the town. But it is also an old mountain village which was first established in the 12th century on a rocky peak surrounded by a meander of the Agout in order to ensure the safety of its inhabitants. The small city then developed little by little over the centuries, taking on the face we know today.

The old village is characterized by mountain architecture and its houses protected from rain and humid winds by slate shingles covering entire sections of walls. These protections from bad weather by vertical tiles are designated by the term “essentes” which are small planks of slate or chestnut cut, arranged and fixed to the walls or beams in order to protect a facade against the flow of water. Houses in the Middle Ages were thus quite often covered with essentes, and sometimes these essentes were painted or cut in such a way as to allow certain geometric combinations. There are many examples in the town of Salvetat-sur-Agout.

Although this makes the village look a bit dull and austere, it also gives it personality and rustic charm.
The village was also part of the association “Les Plus Beaux Villages de France”, but it is no longer labeled to this day.