エスペール周辺のアトラクション＆必見スポット - トップ20

フランス、オクシタニー地方の必見のモニュメントであり、フランス最大級のペンダント・ドームが特徴です。この大聖堂は、フランスの歴史的建造物として、またサンティアゴ・デ・コンポステーラの巡礼路の一部としてユネスコ世界遺産にも登録されています。

カオールには、厳密には水時計（またはクレプシドラ）はありませんが、この街には有名で珍しいモニュメンタル・ボール・クロックがあります。 旧市街の中心部、サン＝ウルシス広場にあるこのキネティック・アート作品は、U字型の噴水の真ん中に鎮座しているため、しばしば水と関連付けられます。 これは、重さ2トン、高さ3.5メートルのモニュメンタルな機械式時計です。振り子の動きには電気を必要とせず、そのエネルギーは、金属製のレールに沿って下降する54個の鋼鉄製フリッパーボール（それぞれ80グラム）の重さから完全に供給されます。 珍しいパフォーマンス：このメカニズムは、1分あたり640グラム、つまり1日あたり約921 kgのボールを消費します。ボールは構造内で年間約18,000 km移動します。一番下に到達したボールは、小さな機械システムのおかげで自動的に巻き上げられます。

Two large domes dominate the Romanesque nave. They represent the most extraordinary example of the so-called "Aquitanian" architectural style: 16 meters in diameter and 32 meters high; only the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul has a taller dome. Also noteworthy is the small, golden church of Saint-Svair, with its large statue of Emperor Charlemagne, who presented it to the church of Cahors.

Worth seeing cathedral in Cahors.

Here the hiker or pilgrim has the town of Cahors and the river Lot at his feet, a truly picture-book view.

This St. Etienne Cathedral impressed us deeply again! The building dates back to the 11th century and is very unique with its two domes. Only in Perigeux is there a cathedral with similar architecture. The special feature is the Saint Coiffe, a fabric relic in which the veil of Jesus from the tomb is venerated. In one dome you can see frescoes of saints, in the middle of St. Stephen, the first martyr of the Christians in Jerusalem. During our visit (September 2024), pictures by the late impressionist painter Henri Martin were projected onto the other gray dome. It is worth spending some time in the cathedral!

This railway bridge was built on the Montauban-Brive line, an axis declared of public interest because it corresponded to the shortest route between Toulouse and Paris. Built at an angle to the riverbed, it combines traditional techniques and implementations typical of industrial architecture. The structure was built between 1880 and 1883 by the engineers Jean LANTEREIS and Jean-Louis LACAZE, employed by the Fives-Lille company. It consists of 5 arches with an opening of 36 meters. The pillars decorated with pilasters are made of hewn Cantal granite. The industrially manufactured metal trusses were melted down in the Fourchambault workshops on behalf of the Orléans company and transported to the location by rail.

This monumental ball-bearing clock was donated to the city of Cahors in 1997. Designed by Michel Zachariou, it took two years of work. A total of 54 pinball machines, each weighing 80 grams, keep the clock ticking. According to the designer, it can last forever as long as it is maintained.