Like most towns of any size that survive today in rural France,
Tulle has had a turbulent past.
From before the Romans took it and re-fortified it calling it Tutela
after the godess of the same name, to whom they built a temple,
its position in a narrow gorge of the Correze river, pretty much
guaranteed it a violent history.
Tulle was squabbled over by various factions of the Roman church;
taken and lost by the English in the Hundred Years War (twice!);
sacked by the Protestant armies during the Wars of Religion and
finally (hopefully) suffered badly at the hands of the German SS
'Das Reich' division in 1944 (on the way through, they hanged
99 of its citizens, only stopping when they ran out of rope).
On a happier note, Tulle gave its name to the fine silk net much
beloved by brides. Concentrate on the old quarter (Enlcos),
with its Renaissance houses during your visit to Tulle... the rest
is a bit of a mish-mash.
