Thiers--The Cradle of French Cutlery

We enjoyed a day's outing to the city of Thiers; a knife manufacturing city in the Auvergne.  The origin of the town's specialization dates back to the Middle Ages:  legend has it that the knights of the Auvergne brought back the secrets of knife manufacture from the First Crusade (1069-99).  We toured  Thier's Cutlery Museum where we learned about the process of knife making including a demonstration of special knife grinding technique developed only in Thiers; in bygone days,  a man, in a prone position,  worked the knife and usually had a dog asleep across the backs of his legs for warmth!

The town is interesting with many beautiful half-timber houses and a church  in the town square called L'Eglise Sainte Genes de Thiers.  We continued our tourt of this area by visiting a fortified castle  called Château d'Aulteribe built around 1450 and was passed on successfully to the La Fayette family and the Beaufort Montboissier family.  In the 17th century the castle became the property of the Montagus who sold it to the Jacques de Pierre in 1775.  From 1833 onwards the family transformed it to its present day look.  In 1954 the Marquis de Pierre died and left his beautiful  castle and art collection to France for the education of the visitors who come to see his private home.

La Bourbonnais- Visit to the towns of Moulins and Montluçon

The area of the Bourbonnais in the northern Auvergne has been on my list of places to see.   Moulins lies on the banks of the River Allier and is the charming once capitol of the dukes of Bourbon.  Bourbon lands first appeared in history books in the early 10th century but it took more than three centuries for its lords and, later counts of Bourbon to rival its powerful neighbors of Berry and Burgundy.  The Bourbons achieved their aim by taking advantage of their geographical location between the Kingdom of France and the duchies of Auvergne and Aquitaine, placing their troops in the service of the crown.  This alliance and the marriage of Béatrice de Bourbon to Robert, Count of Clermont, St. Louis' sixth child, in 1265 aided in building a vast State and led to eight Bourbons becoming King of France.

We visited the the Cathédrale Notre-Dame, famous for its stained glass windows,  and walked down to the town square.  Just as we were admiring the town's belfry, known as the Jacquemart, we heard a band playing and saw a colorful parade coming toward us making their way towards the town hall .  We also visited the town Montluçon.  It is best known for the Bourbon castle,  Château de Montluçon, built during the Hundred Years' War.

   The Bourbonnais countryside is beautiful, particularly in early spring.  The trees were blossoming and the Charolais cattle were grazing peacefully in the fields.