NOTRE-DAME DU PUY CATHEDRAL

In the heart of Le Puy-en-Velay, it is an essential place of peace and meditation, even for those who are not believers. The origins of the Notre-Dame du Puy cathedral go back to the 10th century. But the influx of pilgrims who came to adore the Virgin Mary required several expansions and improvements over the centuries. It is built in a Romanesque architecture, although it dates from the Gothic period. The combination of oriental, Spanish and Italian inspirations is part of its singularity. The Byzantine influences are found in the mosaics of the arcades as well as in some frescoes. The choir rests directly on the rock. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, four additional bays were built, boldly constructed in the void, to make up for a difference in level of 17 m, which represents two thirds of the building. A real architectural feat for the time! Numerous alterations and restorations were carried out over the centuries. The building has been listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1998. But before reaching the building, you will have to climb a staircase of 134 steps. It leads to the altar of the church, it is called the staircase of the belly because it allows the visitor to enter through the navel of the cathedral, its center. As for the interior, the Black Madonna actually dates from the 17th century, the original offered by Saint Louis having been burned by the revolutionaries. It was then a sculpture made in cedar, dressed in an oriental style. She was holding the child Jesus on her lap, both with black faces but white hands. There is an engraving of this Virgin dating from 1778. Do not miss the Stone of Fevers. This volcanic table would have been witness to apparitions of the Virgin during the Gallo-Roman period. It would also have a power of cure, it is for this stone that was built the first sanctuary on the site in the^5th century. Today, pilgrims lie down on this stone in the hope of leaving their sufferings to it. Note also that the cathedral is historically a stopover on the via Podensis, one of the four major routes to the Spanish shrine of Santiago de Compostela. Relaunched in 1990, the section (marked as a GR) leading from Puy-en-Velay to the Domaine du Sauvage in Haute-Loire crosses the Velay mountains and part of the Margeride.