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| Image by Loyloy Thal, Pixabay |
Digoin is a small town of around 8,000 inhabitants. It sits in the département of Saône-et-Loire with the river La Loire flowing on the edge of the southern border of the town. La Loire, at this point, and for a fair distance northwards, pretty much creates a natural border between Saône-et-Loire and its next-door neighbour, Allier, named after yet another great river of France.
But the river is not the only reason to visit. Close to Digoin, the Canal du Centre–opened in 1792 and 122 kilometres in length–meets the Canal latéral à la Loire–opened in 1838 and 196 kilometres in length. In addition, there are two crossings over La Loire, a road bridge and a canal bridge. That particular piece of engineering is my real reason for stopping here. The only access to the canal bridge is either by foot or by boat. Luckily, the campsite isn’t too far away, and I can take a leisurely stroll through town on my way.
At the heart of the town is the church, Notre-Dame de la Providence. Romanesque-Byzantine in style and completed in the late nineteenth century, it was built to replace the original and cramped romanesque church that once stood here. Some later additions–the tympanums-the heavily carved scenes above the three entrances were completed in the 1970s. In terms of age and history, this particular religious edifice is far newer than the places I usually visit. But, architecturally, it is of interest.
As I meander through town, I find a baker's and, lunch today is strawberry tart, which I will eat over by the river. My stroll takes me through Place de la République. A large square that is fairly quiet. Come here in August, and the story will be very different. This square becomes the focus for the Escargot de Bourgogne festival. You can eat snails for a whole three days if you wish and the town will be full to overflowing with people. Personally, I’ll pass on that. Not that I have anything against snails per se; I just don’t want to eat them!
From the Snail Fair, you can continue down the main street, and eventually, you will come out on Place de la Grève. En route, you will pass the Tourist Office, and it’s worth calling in to get the local leaflet with its detailed map for a walking route through town. Place de la Grève runs along the river, and from here, you have a fabulous view of the canal bridge. But, for centuries, this little town has been known as one of the most important ports in Burgundy. On a map dating from the 16th century, you can find Port of ‘Goin’. Regrettably, all that remains of that illustrious past is the name of the street.
Walk a little further on towards the canal bridge, and you will find what remains of an old ceramics warehouse. In the nineteenth century, Digoin was renowned for its ceramics and earthenware. At the time, the canals and the river supported the delivery of supplies of clay and materials to create the pottery goods that were then distributed using the same watery routes.
A little further along the river, you can access the canal bridge. It is supported by 11 arches at a height of 12 meters above the water and a length of 243 metres. The engineer Adolphe Julien was responsible for its design. It took three years to build and was finally completed in 1837. Here we are in the twenty-first century and two European wars later, and craft, mostly for pleasure today, are still crossing this amazing piece of engineering.
This post links with my earlier post from last month, which you can read Here
If you want to know more about the brother river Le Loir, check out the first post Here
