Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille
| Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille | ||
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| region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | |
| Department | Haute Loire | |
| Arrondissement | Le Puy-en-Velay | |
| Canton | Mézenc | |
| Community association | Mézenc-Loire-Meygal | |
| Coordinates | 44 ° 56 ′ N , 4 ° 0 ′ E | |
| height | 752-1,283 m | |
| surface | 39.39 km 2 | |
| Residents | 1,789 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 45 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 43150 | |
| INSEE code | 43135 | |
| Website | Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille | |
 Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille - View of the town |
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Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille is a French commune with 1,789 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the department of Haute-Loire in the region Auvergne Rhône-Alpes in the mountainous landscape of the Velay .
Location and climate
The village of Le Monastier, which is about 970 m high, is located on the Gazeille river , a tributary of the Loire , about 150 km (driving distance) south-east of Clermont-Ferrand and about 20 km from Le Puy-en-Velay . The climate is temperate; Rain (approx. 970 mm / year) falls mainly in the summer months.
Population development
| year | 1800 | 1851 | 1901 | 1954 | 1999 | 2017 | ||
| Residents | 1,766 | 3,464 | 3,743 | 2,065 | 1,734 | 1,789 | ||
| Sources: Cassini and INSEE | ||||||||
The increasing mechanization of agriculture has led to a loss of jobs and a significant population decline since the beginning of the 20th century.
economy
The traditional source of nutrition in the Auvergne mountains was livestock. Grains - with the exception of barley , which used to be used to make soup and eaten in the morning - do not thrive at high altitudes or on slightly acidic soils. In addition, traditional crafts were practiced - especially in winter - but these have been forgotten in the time of increasing industrialization and mechanization of the working world: lace making , wooden shoe production , rope making , saddlery etc. As a result, around half of the population of the place has been since the beginning of the Emigrated to the larger cities in the 20th century.
history
The history of the settlement goes back to the 6th century, when a wealthy landowner by the name of Calmes gave a piece of land to the hermits living here in the caves on the mountain flanks above today's town to build a church on - sometimes it is also reported that he himself became a hermit. As early as 625, an abbot by the name of Eudes is mentioned, whose nephew Theofred succeeded him in this capacity. The latter, however, was stoned to death by the local population, which earned him the reputation of a martyr and saint ( Saint Chaffre ) among the monks . In the year 817 Louis the Pious had the abbey repaired; in the 10th century it was enlarged. The current building dates from the late 11th and early 12th centuries.
In the 11th century the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela flourished more and more and the starting point Le Puy ( Via Podiensis ) was very close, so that many pilgrims did not shy away from the small detour. Their gifts and land donations throughout southern France (235 parcels are listed in an inventory from the 12th century) gave the abbey ever greater prosperity. However, during the Hundred Years War it was partially destroyed by the English; After the war ended, a new Gothic choir was built in the 15th century and the central nave was provided with a rib vault .
Attractions
- Abbey Church of St-Chaffre : The current church is probably based mainly on the building of Abbot Guillaume III. from the year 1074 back: The facade shows the usual Auvergnatic-Poitevinic scheme with two storeys - sculptured by large arcade arches - plus a triangular gable. The arcades on the ground floor are the same height but different widths; the window arcade in the middle of the upper floor is higher than the side blind arcades - such a constellation is also known as the "triumphal arch scheme". In addition, the facade shows the decoration typical of Auvergnatian churches ( checkerboard pattern , stars, diamond fields, etc.) made of different colored stone incrustations . The nave of the - rather dark - church interior has a rib vault; The choir was also renewed in the 15th century in the Gothic style (pointed arches, ribbed vaults, tracery windows, etc.).
- Église St-Jean-Baptiste : The small single-nave parish church made of the reddish and black volcanic rock of the Auvergne is about 200 meters from the former abbey church. It originally dates from the 9th century, but has been rebuilt several times. The current state corresponds roughly to that of the 16th century; the look of the west facade goes back to a fundamental redesign in the 1980s. The former church now serves as an exhibition space, sometimes for smaller concert evenings.
- Château : The former castle from the 16th century with a large keel arch and coat of arms decoration above the entrance belonged to the Sennectaire family, who provided several abbots; it now serves as a museum for everyday objects and handicrafts from the 19th century. One room is dedicated to the life and work of R. L. Stevenson.
Others
- In the 17th century the institution of the so-called Démoiselles de l'instruction , popularly known as 'Beaten', came into being in the Auvergne . These were young, unmarried women who were supposed to teach the boys to read and write and the adolescent girls to learn manual skills (e.g. sewing, lace making etc.) - for this they were given a small house with a kitchen and workroom in the respective village Ground floor and a bedroom on the upper floor made available. Even after the introduction of compulsory schooling at the end of the 19th century, the institution continued in some villages into the 1930s. Some of the small houses (assemblés) are still preserved.
- Monastier-sur-Gazeille has achieved a certain fame - especially in England - because the poet Robert Louis Stevenson stayed in the village for about a month in 1878 and set off from here on September 22nd on an autumn tour of the Cevennes . He describes his impressions in the book Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes (German: A journey with the donkey through the Cevennes ) , published a year later .
Web links
- Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille. History information (French)
- Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille. Photos.
- Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille. Photos.