Fontaine Saint-Pierre de Douchapt (Notre-Dame-de-Pitié)

Douchapt

At Douchapt, the fontaine Saint-Pierre, also called Saint-Pé, flows below the chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Pitié. This chapel dates from 1892; it took the place of a 17th-century chapel, Notre-Dame-de-Douchapt. Formerly two pilgrimages passed by the chapel and the fountain. On 8 June protection was asked against bad weather, in particular hail, which often damaged the crops in summer. On 14 and 15 August the faithful came in numbers to honour the Virgin. The Dordogne tourism website writes that these pilgrimages still took place ‘a few years ago’; Wikipédia speaks of a pilgrimage ‘formerly’. The fountain is one of the stages of a 10 km loop on the village's fountains and wash-houses. The panel of the loop recalls that fountains bearing a saint's name were held to be sacred, often linked to a chapel, and that pilgrims threw coins into them to obtain a favour. This custom is presented as ancient, coming from the Romans, according to the same text, with no other proof given. A panel placed near the fountain is titled ‘Les fontaines sacrées’.

Getting there: At Douchapt, on the loop ‘Les Fontaines’ (10 km, waymarked, starting at the lavoir de la Grange); the fontaine Saint-Pierre is its last point of interest. Coordinates: centre of the commune (OpenStreetMap, Nominatim), therefore approximate; the fountain is west of the chapel, not located to the metre. Path and condition of the fountain not verified on the spot.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound