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Les Suquets de Penne

Présentation

In a natural setting sculpted by Aveyron, Penne's unique village-style architecture, built into the rock, is in harmony with its surroundings: a limestone cliff backdrop.

Castle and village combined:
Around 560, the castle of Penne was built at the behest of Frédégonde, wife of Chilpéric I, king of Neustria, a woman who would stop at nothing to hold power. Thus she made Chilperic's first wife and his two sons disappear. Her rivalry with Brunehaut, Queen of Austrasia, is famous. War ravaged their states and Brunehaut died on the orders of Clotaire II, son of Frédégonde. Modernised and enlarged, the castle of Penne sheltered Cathars in the 13th century. One hundred years later, the English occupied it for more than thirty years. Finally, the Protestants dismantled it in 1586... Under Henry IV, the stones were used to rebuild the village, which now merges with the castle. Both enrich a site that has become quite unusual.