The post-and-beam houses in La Masure and Le Miroir

These picturesque villages are home to distinctive post-and-beam houses, most of which date back many centuries. Records have been found as far back as 1633. Post-and-beam houses were often built by masons harking from Piedmont in Italy. Since timber was rare, they tended to build the walls out of stone and the low-sloping roofs out of lauze slate. Not only did these construction materials look nice, but they were also extremely practical. Built-up columns (as tall as 2 to 6 metres depending on the house) supported the heavy, overhanging roof, thus creating shelters and storage areas away from bad weather: hay or timber could be dried there for example… In steeply sloping areas, these columns could reach up to a dozen metres off the ground. In the village of Le Miroir, please remember to leave your bikes in the church car park so that you can visit it on foot.