AlexVarlik

Tribute to my beautiful French grandparents from my mother’s side to whom I owe so much in life.

Henri Geraud BRUEL born in 1912 (left) and Ernestine Denise LABORIE born in 1917 (right) got married in 1939 in the village of Mur-de-Barrez in Aveyron (Departement 12 / France).

Both were from rural agriculture backgrounds, their families running large farms in Aveyron.

They moved to Paris after the end of the 2nd World War and became entrepreneurs. They managed to own some cafés and restaurants in Paris 15th and 7th district and finished their lives very wealthy. They passed away in 2001 and 2014.

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A bit of history:

Both were born in the small village of Lacroix-Barrez, next to Mur-de-Barrez.

In the heart of Aveyron, in Occitania, nestles the small village of Mur-de-Barrez. It takes its name from an old enclosure wall that once encircled it.

Small town in the Merovingian period, Mur-de-Barrez has a castle and a fortress since the eleventh century. The village got invaded and occupied twice (in 1373 and in 1418) by the English during the 100 years old war between the kingdoms of France and England.

In the middle of the seventeenth century, the village became the stronghold of the Grimaldi, monarchs of Monaco, following the treaty of Péronne by Louis XIII. The latter regained French sovereignty shortly after the French Revolution.