Lake Vassiviere

Vassiviere was created between 1947 and 1950 by damming the Maulde for hydroelectricity, flooding about a thousand hectares of the Limousin plateau at around six hundred and fifty metres and leaving a lake with a much-indented shore and around seventy small islands. The largest, the Ile de Vassiviere, is reached by a causeway and holds a centre for contemporary art in a building by Aldo Rossi and Xavier Fabre, with a lighthouse-like tower, and a sculpture park where about seventy works are placed through woodland and open ground. Around the lake are beaches, sailing bases and a marked path of roughly twenty-seven kilometres.

History

The lake was built after the Second World War behind two dams in the valley of the Maulde, an important tributary of the Vienne, and it opened at Christmas 1950. Covering about 10 square kilometres on the Plateau de Millevaches, it is the largest body of water in the Limousin, fed mainly by the Maulde and also, through an underground canal, by the 285-hectare Lavaud-Gelade reservoir to the east, and it supplies the hydroelectric station at Mazet to the west as well as drinking water and leisure (Wikipedia, Lac de Vassivière).

What's there

• The sculpture park - about seventy outdoor works through island woodland.
• The art centre - a Rossi and Fabre building with a tower on the island.
• The indented shore - a reservoir with many bays and small islands.
• The lake circuit - a marked path of about twenty-seven kilometres.

When to go

May to September for swimming, sailing and the art centre's main season; the sculpture park is open year-round and free. Autumn colour on the plateau is good. Winter is cold and wet.

Practical notes

The art centre closes some days and between exhibitions. The plateau climate is wet and cool even in summer. Facilities around the lake are seasonal.

Nearby

Limoges lies west; the Millevaches plateau surrounds it.

Key facts