Pompiey

The name of this small village recalls its Gallo-Roman origins ("Pompei"). Pompiey is one of those wild and picturesque places where time has stood still. Covered mainly by the Landes forest and cork oak trees ("the most beautiful rural income in France," as George Sand said), it is an ideal place for walking and hiking, with your feet in the sand, discovering the local flora and fauna.

Pompiey has about 200 inhabitants and is 191 meters above sea level.

History: Pompeiiis a prehistoric site, as indicated by the presence of the Choisy covered walkway.

The legend of Lake La Lagüe: "It was in ancient times when the green hills of Gascony bordered the vast expanse of desert moors. On the edge of the sands and marshes, at the foot of the Xaintrailles hills, lived Ronald and his wife Babet, wealthy landowners in Tirelauze, surrounded by generous vineyards and beautiful wheat fields. One September evening, the farmhands and maidservants were crouched at the foot of the vines, finishing the harvest. A man appeared at the end of the path, dressed in a heavy coat, leaning on a gnarled stick. Approaching Ronald, he asked him for a bunch of grapes to quench his thirst.

The latter rudely chased him away. The traveler then saw with horror that the faces of the grape pickers were covered with muzzles! He resumed his journey, announcing his next visit. He did indeed return on Christmas Eve! All the bells of the neighboring parishes, Pompiey, Fargues, and Xaintrailles, called the faithful to the ritual vigil. The servants of Tirelauze, wrapped up in their poor rags, were getting ready for the celebration when a disturbing shadow appeared in the night. It was the traveler who had announced his return in the fall. "Please give me a glass of wine," he says to Ronald and Babet, "I've had a long journey and I'm very thirsty." Ronald shouts, "Go on your way..." Babet raises her stick and the dogs bark ferociously. The pilgrim then backs away, resumes his journey, and raises his arms to the starry sky. From the ground, which collapses with a loud noise, gushes forth bubbling water, engulfing Tirelauze, its meadows and fields, its vines and animals. In place of the cursed land, a peaceful and mysterious lake now stretches out: the Laguë. It is said that in its center, "a chasm boils and mixes the tears of the repentant Ronald and Babet." It is also said that on Christmas Eve, the crowing of a rooster can be heard from the bottom of the lake when the bells ring out around it.

Anecdote:Upon her arrival in La Maisonneuve in 1825, better known as Guillery, GeorgeSand wrote in Histoire de ma vie (Story of My Life) that it was a "terrible desert, a desolate moor covered with cork trees, the most profitable crop in France, but the saddest and gloomiest tree... A few years later, she revised her opinion: "Here, every day is the same. I get up late, have breakfast, spend an hour or two at the piano, go back to my room, and read or draw until dinner."

Monuments:11th-century church with a remarkable Romanesque apse – Guillery Castle, where George Sand (whose real name was Aurore Dupin) lived after her marriage to Baron Dudevant.

For more information:See detailsofPompeii'sarchitectural heritageormovable heritage.