Medieval village

Yesterday we visited Sain-Antoine-l'Abbaye for the first time. Today a second visit; not the abbey but the medieval village which is described as one of the 'treasures' of the Rhone-Alpes Region and is ranked as one of the Most Beautiful Villages of France.

Walking through Saint-Antoine you see it's impressive timber-framed houses, narrow passageways, medieval market and the surroundings of the abbey.

I wrote before about the registering as Historical Monument but didn't mention the year: it was in 1946 (!).

The house fronts (doors, a real theme, ~Lali!), narrow streets, village squares, rooftops, all are of remarkable authenticity. One experiences a journey through time into the heart of the Middle Ages ;)

But you also see 'faded glory'. Many buildings have fallen into disrepair. In fact the whole village 'cries for maintenance' - so to speak!

Today's blip is an example for the state of disrepair from a 'normal' occupied private home ...

The way, for example, Historic Scotland deals with the 'treasures' of the Scottish history (castles, abbeys, medieval places of interest, and so on) could serve as a model (for maintenance) for the municipality of Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye.