luxury farmhouse for sale Lozère, France

An old farm and its verdant surroundings on the Mont-Lozère plateau crossed by countless rivers. Formerly part of a priory dating back to the 14th century, the farm has preserved several original stone features. During the Wars of Religion from the 16th to the 18th century, this major resistance site welcomed many Huguenots in the strongly Protestant region. They found refuge on these heights to organise their defence, their worship or their escape without denying their faith, before the great and often definitive departure for Geneva. At the beginning of the 20th century, the last thatched roofs in the region disappeared, as a result of various fires or the abandonment of the countryside in favour of the city and its more modern comforts. A few ruins remain in the vicinity and bear witness to a past that is only waiting to rise from its ashes. Some of these remnants were rebuilt in the 1960s and roofed with slate tiles by people who were passionate about rural architecture and by the Cévennes National Park, which developed the lodgings as gîtes (guest houses). The property is one of three seasonally used houses in a small hamlet that are still standing, well apart from each other. Owing to its remoteness and its official protection as a national park, the area has been preserved, as its inhabitants were not encouraged to give in to modern materials that did not form part of the local culture. Not only the character and type of the buildings have been protected, but also the landscape, which has been given sustained attention so that no visual disturbance affects the well-being of the inhabitants, who still live in harmony with their environment. A few flocks of sheep and cattle are a reminder of the building's farming origins, but they are kept well away by a stream and a small footpath, themselves hidden by a hedge. On the other side of the property, a river, at once watercourse and private natural pool, forms several small waterfalls and leisurely water features, where one can relax without attracting attention, in winter as in summer.