Pesmes is an attractive and historic place. It’s white sandstone buildings, set dramatically on a rocky hill, overlook the sleepy River Ognon. A rich agricultural valley stretches out from the former defensive walls that once ringed the village. So attractive is Pesmes that it has been selected as one of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, or The Most Beautiful Villages Of France. An award not to be sniffed at.
Given the competition, making the list of just 178 out of 34,000 French villages is no mean feat. It makes Pesmes a pretty special place. Despite this, the village suffers from the same demographic decline seen across rural France. Inhabitants of the village are known as Pesmois. An article in Le Monde points out that two bars the village once sustained, and where Pesmois once mingled with tourists, had closed this year.
As we walked around the pleasant streets, we saw very few other people and a lot of shuttered or vacant houses. There was more going on along the Grand Rue in the centre of the village, where a good boulangerie was doing a decent trade. But there was no cafe where we could have breakfast, unless you count the small Tabac that served coffee in paper cups. That though should not detract from this beautiful place.
We had arrived from Dole early to avoid the searing heat that was forecast for later in the day. Driving through the flat countryside, Pesmes suddenly appeared like a beacon on the horizon. We approached the village down a straight avenue lined with plane trees. At the Pont sur l’Ognon we stopped for the sublime views, reflected in the slow moving waters of the Ognon the village looked timeless.
Like Dole to the south, Pesmes was part of the Habsburg Holy Roman Empire and only became French in 1678. It was a strategic location militarily and for trade, and frequently fought over. Which helps explain why such a tiny place had a (now ruined) castle and defensive walls – two of the original medieval gates still exist. In that period, wine making was the village’s main industry, but all that changed in the 1660s.
In 1660, iron ore deposits were deíscovered just outside the village. The new industry grew rapidly, ushering in a period of great prosperity for Pesmes. The quality of the metal was exceptional and it quickly became a supplier of military weapons. Which definitely made the village more of a target of acquisition for King Louis XIV. The industry survived until 1875, today the old forge buildings are a museum.
We started our exploration of Pesmes next to the town hall. A side street took us past the school and the château, which doesn’t seem open to the public. The path brought us to the old ramparts on the cliff edge, the panorama over the River Ognon and valley were gorgeous. The rampart walk is short and ends in a public park, from where we wandered through the near-deserted streets.
There are a lot of small houses and cottages, but also a significant number of mansions dotted around the town. Few, if any, are accessible, but you do occasionally get a glimpse into their gardens and interior courtyards. We were headed to the Église Saint-Hilaire, a small but pretty church with a interesting interior. The church lies at the end of the village near one of the remaining medieval gates, Porte Saint-Hilaire.
The church dates from the 12th century, but the colourful tiled roof was added in the 18th century after fire destroyed the original. After a look inside, we made our way back to the centre in search of coffee. Pesmes is small and takes less than a couple of hours to explore, we took one last look from the ramparts and headed north towards Champagne country.
