The impressive rocky slope La Roque de Saint-Christophe above the Vézère valley is the result of deposits and erosion caused by the waves and currents of a primeval sea and the effects of the last ice ages.
It stretches over a kilometer in length and is more than 80m high. The car ride along the wall to the visitor parking lot is an experience in itself.
The rock face has 5 terraces that have been settled, enlarged and fortified in different stages.
First it served as a shelter for hunters and gatherers (from 50,000 years BC) and then for Cro-Magnon man (from 25,000 BC).
From the Neolithic period onwards, the rock terraces were continuously inhabited and expanded.
The most important period was probably from the early Middle Ages, when the rock was developed as a fortress against the raids and conquests of the Vikings, who sailed their ships up the rivers and captured the cities on it: the Seine (capture of Rouen), the Garonne (taking Agen, Toulouse, Bordeaux) until they were finally defeated.
In 1588 the history of settlement finally ended due to the destruction during the Wars of Religion.
The complex was beautifully and lovingly reconstructed and various rooms were clearly explained on boards. In a so-called “Abri” (shelter under the rock overhang), a film explains the eventful history of the rock face. A great experience, especially when you think about how many generations of people have already moved their feet over the rocks here. Today the rock face belongs to the many birds that nest in the small and large caves.