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Sacred places
Sacred places
Sacred places
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11 juin 2007

Vassivière

Vasivière would come from '' go iver " (the temple of water);  the site is an old Celtic place honouring the divinities with water of Couze, Clamouze and the lake Pavin. Notre-Dame naturally took the succession of these divinities, like source of life and protective of the travellers.

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Located at the foot of Puy of Paraillet, at a distance of 8 km of the village of Besse, Vassivière has a holy source, the chapelloune, and dominates the division of two hydraulic basins, in the east to combine it and the Loire, in the west the Dordogne and the Garonne.

Nested to 1.197 m of altitude in the chain of the Mounts Gilds, the lake Pavin marries the perfect round-off of the crater which it occupies. Its superb green ECRIN contrasts with its water blue harms, betraying its 92 meters of depth. Six thousand year old young person, it is spread out to 44 hectares and measure 750 meters diameter. The legend tells that the lake, considered as most beautiful of Auvergne, absorbed the city of Besse, punished by the gods. It would be at the origin of its name: Pavin, deformation of Latin pavens, wanting to say terrible.

Not astonishing that the place is devoted to the element “water”.

In front of the sanctuary, old stones leave the pasture. It's a pity that this place is already inhabited, I did not take the risk to make leave a whole herd, even if I have much affinity with these beautiful russet-red cows…

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In 1321, Bernard VII of the Tower made gift to the chapître cathedral of the stones of the vault of Vassivière ruined for the rebuilding of the church of Condat in Feniers in the cantal. From this period, one does not know if the first vault were devastated by the English at the time of the one hundred year old war or the distance of the site would have made forget the sanctuary.

In remembering this temple, one left there a statuette of the virgin whom one did not fail to greet with the passage.

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The history could have stopped some there if, in 1547, a merchant of Besse answering in the name of Pierre Gef, who went to the Tower of Auvergne, refused to greet it while making fun of the devotion carried by his comrades for this black statuette. It was found at once plugs. It will find the sight that after having repented and fact amends honourable. One then decided to kill the virgin to the church from Saint Andre in Besse. The following day, it had returned all alone in its niche of mountain and this reproduces three times. The news was propagated very quickly., and one spoke about miracle.

It is at that time that one decided to build the vault, Catherine de Médicis, then owner of the places gave the authorization of it. Work began in 1550, the vault devoted in 1555 and completed on June 6, 1556.

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One founded a pélerinage allowing the beautiful season to assemble the Lady in procession on July 2 in his sanctuary of mountain (altitude 1.300 meters) and to go down again it in large pump last Sunday of September after the Matthieu saint, (or after the autumnal equinox): the dévalade. It thus follows the rules of transhumance, on the 8 km separating Vassivière de Besse.

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During the revolution, the vault will be transformed into barn and will be sold in national good, in 1804. It is only into 1809 that Napoleon will sign reopening.

On the site, there is a vault known as “of summer”, only open the days of the Louis Saint and the Michel Saint. While going up in direction of the sanctuary, one can find several doors of life, attesting the seniority of the high-place. Particularly made think of a seat. It is true that one feels a softness extrème by taking seat, as if the stone wanted to remove any lassitude with the pélerin….

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