Ridelimousin Tour - Oradour and Lac Saint Pardoux

[RideLimousin]

Great weather here at Ridelimousin at the moment, time to test some new touring routes.

This tour takes in a fascinating place called Oradour sur Glane, a village that was massacred by the Nazis (where they basically went in one day and murdered all the residents) and the village has since been preserved as it was left that day.

At the outskirts of the burnt out village:



You can walk around the whole village, its quite a spooky and sobering place...

On 10 June, Diekmann's battalion sealed off Oradour-sur-Glane, having confused it with nearby Oradour-sur-Vayres, and ordered all the townspeople – and anyone who happened to be in or near the town – to assemble in the village square, ostensibly, to have their identity papers examined. In addition to the residents of the village, the SS also apprehended six people who did not live there but had the misfortune to be riding their bikes through the village when the Germans arrived.

All the women and children were locked in the church while the village was looted. Meanwhile, the men were led to six barns and sheds where machine guns were already in place.

According to the account of a survivor, the soldiers began shooting at them, aiming for their legs so that they would die slowly. Once the victims were no longer able to move, the soldiers covered their bodies with fuel and set the barns on fire. Only six men escaped; one of them was later seen walking down a road heading for the cemetery and was shot dead. In all, 190 men perished.

The soldiers proceeded to the church and placed an incendiary device there. After it was ignited, women and children tried to escape through the doors and windows of the church, but they were met with machine-gun fire. A total of 247 women and 205 children died in the carnage. Only two women and one child survived; one was 47-year-old Marguerite Rouffanche. She slid out by a rear sacristy window, followed by a young woman and child.[3] All three were shot; Marguerite Rouffanche was wounded and her companions were killed. She crawled to some pea bushes behind the church, where she remained hidden overnight until she was rescued the following morning. Another group of about twenty villagers had fled Oradour-sur-Glane as soon as the soldiers had appeared. That night, the village was partially razed.

A few days later, survivors were allowed to bury the dead. 642 inhabitants of Oradour-sur-Glane had been murdered in a matter of hours. Adolf Diekmann claimed that the episode was a just retaliation for partisan activity in nearby Tulle and the kidnapping of Helmut Kämpfe.

A picturesque church on the way to Lac Saint Pardoux....



A couple of shots on the banks of the lake, this lake is vast and a great place to stop for a cold drink.





This tour is a good one if you're interested in history and great scenery, although the roads we have chosen along the way are pretty good too!

I will be adding more information on this tour soon here: http://www.ridelimousin.com/touring.html

 

[Muppet]

Not so much a ride report, more of an advert???

 

[RideLimousin]

Hi Muppet,

I always do reports on rides I do, off road and on, and run a business as well. Sorry if you see it as just an advert though!

 

[geordie]

Excellent mate , I'm heading to oradour in July.

Can you ride through the village or do you need to park and walk?

 

[The Stimulator]

Excellent mate , I'm heading to oradour in July.

Can you ride through the village or do you need to park and walk?

You've got to park and walk geordie, makes more sense anyway as the silence is one of the striking things in the village.

 

[RideLimousin]

Excellent mate , I'm heading to oradour in July.

Can you ride through the village or do you need to park and walk?

Hi geordie, there is ample free parking next to the Oradour site itself. They have tried to preserve the whole village just as it was after the massacre, which included the original streets which still have the tram lines through them.

Apparently some villagers were on the tram when the Nazis were there, and rather than get off the tram a few decided to carry on to the next stop. Proved a very wise move

 

[geordie]

Cheers

There was a two page spread in the daily mirror a few months ago that's where I heard about it, I've since done a little reading it really is a horrific story.
I've just bought the world at war and the start of the very first episode it (briefly) tells the tale then a helicopter films the village at lo level.

Really looking forward to this.

 

[dave hendy]

Thanks for the photos, I have got to visit there when I go to that part of France

People need to remember!

Dave

 

[johnnyrep]

Hi Muppet,

I always do reports on rides I do, off road and on, and run a business as well. Sorry if you see it as just an advert though!

I thought you was insulting him till I realised that was his name

More photos please I may go that way this year.

 

[RideLimousin]

Thanks for the photos, I have got to visit there when I go to that part of France

People need to remember!

Dave

No worries, it's well worth a look if you are in the area. Some people spend a whole day looking round!

 

[RideLimousin]

I thought you was insulting him till I realised that was his name

More photos please I may go that way this year.

Lol, wasn't insulting, try to keep things nice as much as possible

Will see if I have any more photos of Oradour and post 'em up if I can.

 

[RideLimousin]

Got a few more photos for anyone that's interested:









This is the church where all the inhabitants were rounded up:



Car graveyard: