The citadel of Crozant

From where you are standing, you can see the ruins of the citadel of Crozant. The town became famous in 1830 when George SAND and Frédéric CHOPIN fell in love with the area. Its medieval towers, high above a splendid nature site, fit perfectly with the spirit of Romanticism which was popular at the time.
However, the landscape was quite different from today’s landscape. Sheep grazed upon the steep hills, removing much of the vegetation. Instead of bushes and trees, there were moorland and heather. Their pinkish tones can be seen in many of the paintings dating back to that period. Besides how the vegetation evolved, the main change comes from Eguzon dam which modified the landscape by causing the Creuse and Sédelle water levels to rise. Their levels used to be much lower and they resembled torrents whereas now the river Creuse is more of a stream. Thus, the two valleys were even more steep-sided than they are today. There used to be a hotel for the valley’s many tourists at the foot of the ruins.