HIGHLIGHTS
- learn about the history of the city’s fine porcelain and enamelware
- quietly contemplate at the shrine of Oradour-sur-Glane
- visit the Gothic cathedral of St Etienne
Limoges
The city of Limoges has always been acclaimed for its production of fine porcelain and enamelware. As a result of this the city’s main museums and galleries are dedicated to these crafts and their production.
Limoges has two main areas, the old city, which evolved around the cathedral on a plateau overlooking the river Vienne and the chateau quarter. The latter now being the commercial centre of Limoges.
About 25kms north west of Limoges is the village of Oradour-sur-Glane. On 10th June 1944, SS troops executed a terrible revenge on this little community, burning alive nearly the entire population. There was intense Resistance activity in Limousin during World War II and this led to the severe reprisal that was to be the fate of the villagers of Oradour-sur-Glane. 642 people were killed, including 205 children. The ruins of the village have been kept as a shrine. Entry to the village is via the Centre de la Memoire, which describes the village before the massacre and shows the few survivors’ testimonies and executioners’ confessions.