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Crozant School artists were particularly fond of this breathtaking panorama. It towers above the rivers Sédelle and Creuse, embracing the citadel’s ruins and headland. The cliff opposite the rocky spur, on the other side of the river, is not in Creuse but in the Indre area. It gets its poetic name “Rocher de la Fileuse” (which means “Spinner’s rock”), from a local legend…
Back when there were lords in Crozant, young sherperdesses would bring their sheep here to graze. In the springtime, they would sit on the rocks and compete in a contest : they would lean over the ledge and drop their spindles, letting them unravel all the way down to the river, then they would suddenly tug at the string and the wet spindles would pop back up like shimmering yoyos.
From atop the tower, the lord, his lady and knights would watch these tournaments. The most skilful shepherdesses were triumphantly carried up to the castle where they were awarded a crown of flowers by the lord, a chaste kiss on the forehead and the permission to marry one of the castle’s most charming young valets.
Down to your left was Brigand mill. Its wheel was immerged in the river Sédelle. Many artists including Armand Guillaumin immortalized it. Little did they know that the mill would be swallowed up by the river, once Eguzon dam was built, in 1926.
