Auberge rouge, Historic inn at Lanarce, France.
Auberge rouge is a stone building at an elevation of 4193 feet (1278 meters) on the N102 road between Aubenas and Pradelles in the Ardèche department. The house sits on a windswept plateau in the Cevennes and consists of several rooms with low ceilings, dark wooden beams, and stone floors that are now open to visitors.
In 1833, the innkeepers Pierre Martin, Marie Breysse, and Jean Rochette were executed in the courtyard after their conviction. These events brought the inn national notoriety and later inspired literary works and two film adaptations, in 1951 with Fernandel and in 2007 with Christian Clavier.
The name refers to the inn that once sheltered travelers on the route between Aubenas and Le Puy and is now remembered as the setting of a well-known story in France. Visitors can walk through the interior and see how roadside inns in this remote area looked and operated in the early 19th century.
The building now serves as a museum displaying furniture and objects from the 19th century in the original room layout. The location on a narrow mountain road means parking can be limited, especially on weekends during the summer months.
The execution of the three innkeepers drew an estimated 30,000 spectators to this remote plateau. This remarkably high number shows the pull that public executions had in rural 19th-century France.
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