Le Puy-en-Velay



Le Puy-en-Velay is a city in France. capital of Haute-Loire dept., in the region Auvergne. Le Puy-en-Velay is the center of an old lace industry, as well as traditional brewing and leather industries. It was an old capital of Velay and an episcopal see from the 6th cent. The city grew after its shrine to the Virgin became (10th cent.) a major place of pilgrimage. The modern section of the city lies below a bare rock, which, towering almost 500 ft (152 m) above the city, is capped by a bronze statue of the Virgin. Immediately at the foot of the rock lies the old city, with a cathedral (12th cent.) of extraordinarily daring construction, an 11th-century baptistery, and numerous Gothic buildings. Atop a lesser, needle-shaped rock is the Romanesque Church of St. Michel d'Aiguilhe, and at its foot is an 11th-century chapel.

Early history
The Martyrology of Ado and the first legend of St. Front of Périgueux (written perhaps in the middle of the tenth century, by Gauzbert, chorepiscopus of Limoges) speak of a certain priest named George who was brought to life by the touch of St. Peter's staff, and who accompanied St. Front, St. Peter's missionary and first Bishop of Périgueux. A legend of St. George, the origin of which, according to Duchesne is not earlier than the eleventh century, makes that saint one of the seventy-two disciples, and tells how he founded the Church of Civitas Vetula in the County of Le Velay, and how, at the request of St. Martial, he caused an altar to the Blessed Virgin to be erected on Mont Anis (Mons Anicius).

After St. George, certain local traditions of very late origin point to Sts. Macarius, Marcellinus, Roricius, Eusebius, Paulianus, and Vosy (Evodius) as bishops of Le Puy. It must have been from St. Paulianus that the town of Ruessium, now Saint-Paulien, received its name; and it was probably St. Vosy who completed the church of Our Lady of Le Puy at Anicium and transferred the episcopal see from Ruessium to Anicium. St. Vosy was apprised in a vision that the angels themselves had dedicated the cathedral to the Blessed Virgin, whence the epithet Angelic given to the cathedral of Le Puy. It is impossible to say whether this St. Evodius is the same who signed the decrees of the Council of Valence in 374. Neither can it be affirmed that St. Benignus, who in the seventh century founded a hospital at the gates of the basilica, and St. Agrevius, the seventh-century martyr from whom the town of Saint-Agrève Chiniacum took its name, were really bishops.

Duchesne thinks that the chronology of these early bishops rests on very little evidence and that very ill supported by documents; before the tenth century only six individuals appear of whom it can be said with certainty that they were bishops of Le Puy. The first of these, Scutarius, the legendary architect of the first cathedral, dates, if we may trust the inscription which bears his name, from the end of the fourth century.

Pilgrimage and medieval status
Legend traces the origin of the pilgrimage of Le Puy to an apparition of the Blessed Virgin to a sick widow whom St. Martial had converted. No French pilgrimage was more frequented in the Middle Ages. Charlemagne came twice, in 772 and 800; there is a legend that in 772 he established a foundation at the cathedral for ten poor canons (chanoines de paupérie), and he chose Le Puy, with Aachen and Saint-Gilles, as a centre for the collection of Peter's Pence. Charles the Bald visited Le Puy in 877, Eudes of France in 892, Robert I of France in 1029, Philip Augustus in 1183. Louis IX met the King of Aragon there in 1245; and in 1254 passing through Le Puy on his return from Palestine, he gave to the cathedral an ebony image of the Blessed Virgin clothed in gold brocade. After him, Le Puy was visited by Philip the Bold in 1282, by Philip the Fair in 1285, by Charles VI of France in 1394, by Charles VII of France in 1420, and by the mother of Joan of Arc in 1429. Louis XI made the pilgrimage in 1436 and 1475, and in 1476 halted three leagues from the city and went to the cathedral barefooted. Charles VIII visited it in 1495, Francis I of France in 1533.

Theodulph, Bishop of Orléans, brought to Our Lady of Le Puy, as an ex-voto for his deliverance, a magnificent Bible, the letters of which were made of plates of gold and silver, which he had himself put together, about 820, while in prison at Angers. St. Mayeul, St. Odilon, St. Robert, St. Hugh of Grenoble, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Dominic, St. Vincent Ferrer, St. John Francis Regis were pilgrims to Le Puy. The Church of Le Puy received, on account of its dignity and fame, temporal and spiritual favours. Concessions made in 919 by William the Young, Count of Auvergne and Le Velay, and in 923 by King Raoul, gave it sovereignty over the whole population of the town (bourg) of Anis, a population which soon amounted to 30,000 souls. In 999, Pope Sylvester II consecrated his friend Théodard, a monk of Aurillac, Bishop of Le Puy, to replace Stephen of Gevaudan, whom his uncle Guy, Bishop of Le Puy, had in his lifetime, designated to be his successor, and whom a Roman council had excommunicated. Sylvester II exempted Théodard from all metropolitan jurisdiction, a privilege which Pope Leo IX confirmed to the Bishops of Le Puy, also granting them the right, until then reserved to archbishops exclusively of wearing the pallium. "Nowhere", he said in his Bull, "does the Blessed Virgin receive a more special and more filial worship."

It was from Le Puy that Pope Urban II dated (15 August, 1095) the Letters Apostolic convoking the Council of Clermont, and it was a canon of Le Puy, Raymond d'Aiguilles, chaplain to the Count of Toulouse, who wrote the history of the crusade. Pope Gelasius II, Pope Callistus II, Pope Innocent II and Pope Alexander III visited Le Puy to pray, and with the visit of one of these popes must be connected the origin of the great Jubilee which is granted to Our Lady of Le Puy whenever Good Friday falls on 25 March, the Feast of the Annunciation. It is supposed that this jubilee was instituted by Callistus II, who passed through Le Puy, in April, 1119, or by Alexander III, who was there in August, 1162, and June, 1165, or by Pope Clement IV, who had been Bishop of Le Puy. The first jubilee historically known took place in 1407, and in 1418 the chronicles mention a Bull of Pope Martin V prolonging the duration of the jubilee. During the Middle Ages, everyone who had made the pilgrimage to Le Puy had the privilege of making a will in extremis with only two witnesses instead of seven. Honoured with such prerogatives, the Church of Le Puy assumed a sort of primacy in respect to most of the Churches of France, and even of Christendom. This primacy manifested itself practically in a right to beg, established with the authorization of the Holy See, in virtue of which the chapter of Le Puy levied a veritable tax upon almost all the Christian countries to support its hospital of Notre-Dame. In Catalonia this droit de quête, recognized by the Spanish Crown, was so thoroughly established that the chapter had its collectors permanently installed in that country. A famous "fraternity" existed between the chapter of Le Puy and that of Girona in Catalonia.

Later history
The statue of Our Lady of Le Puy and the other treasures escaped the pillage of the Middle Ages. The roving banditti were victoriously dispersed, in 1180, by the Confraternity of the Chaperons (Hooded Cloaks) founded at the suggestion of a canon of Le Puy. In 1562 and 1563 Le Puy was successfully defended against the Huguenots by priests and religious armed with cuirasses and arquebusses. But in 1793 the statue was torn from its shrine and burned in the public square. Père de Ravignan, in 1846, and the Abbé Combalot, in 1850, were inspired with the idea of a great monument to the Blessed Virgin on the Rocher Corneille. Napoleon III placed at the disposal of Bishop Morlhon 213 pieces of artillery taken by Pélissier at Sebastopol, and the colossal statue of "Notre-Dame de France" cast from the iron of these guns, amounting in weight to 150,000 kilogrammes, or more than 330,000 lbs. avoirdupois, was dedicated 12 September, 1860.

More informations about the History of Le Puy-en-Velay on the Le Puy-en-Velay !

WHAT TO VISIT ?
More informations about the places to visit in Laon on the Le Puy-en-Velay and even the Website of the Office of Tourism] !

Free Internet/Wifi Access
Here are some places where you would get some Internet/Wifi access:


 * Médiatic 43 - Adress: Immeuble Interconsulaire, 16 boulevard Bertrand - Tel: 04 71 04 04 40
 * PIJ Le Puy en Velay - Adress: PIJ, 28 rue Vibert - Tel: 04 71 04 04 46
 * GRETA du Velay - Adress: Lycée C et A Dupuy - Tel: 04 71 09 80 20

COUCHSURFERS
There are about 35 Couchsurfers in Le Puy-en-Velay and the area, feel free to contact them by searching them on a couchsurf or by posting some messages on the CS Group of Haute Loire.

Meetings
There are some meetings organised in Le Puy-en-Velay, you can check on the CS Group of Haute Loire if there is something happened or check on the Regional CS Group of Auvergne to see if there is an event organised in the area.

Coffee or a drink
Here is a list of local couchsurfers who could be ready to show you the city or/and have a drink with you:

By Car

 * From Saint-Etienne:
 * 75km, about 1 hour
 * follow the N88 road, directions Firminy, Le Puy
 * autostop is very easy
 * From Clermont-Ferrand:
 * 130km, about 1 hour 45
 * follow the A75 motorway, then the N102 Brioude -> Le Puy
 * autostop is possible, but if you come from the north of Clermont-Ferrand (A71), the connection with A75 is not easy. You'll find easily drivers who are going to Saint-Etienne, and then autostop from Saint-Etienne is easy.
 * From the Rhône valley: various ways throughout Ardèche.

By Train

 * From Saint-Etienne:
 * 1 hour and 20 minutes
 * frequent relations excepted between 12am and 4pm. First train arrives at 7:40am, last arrives at 11:15pm.
 * Beautiful landscapes, it goes along the Loire valley.
 * Main stops where you can take this train: Saint-Etienne-Châteaucreux / Carnot / Le Clapier / Bellevue, Aurec-sur-Loire, Basse-en-Basset, Retournac, Vorey.
 * From Lyon: add 50 minutes between Lyon and Saint-Etienne. You'll have to change at Saint-Etienne-Chateaucreux.
 * From Clermont-Ferrand:
 * 2 hours, you'll probably have to change in Arvant, Brioude, Langeac or Saint-Georges-d'Aurac.
 * Less frequent relations, sometimes the second part is replaced by buses, always ask (and insist!) at ticket office... automatic ticket vending machine sometimes don't know thoses buses!
 * From Marseille, Nîmes:
 * trains to Clermont-Ferrand, change at Langogne (rare buses during scolar period) or at Saint-Georges-d'Aurac, Langeac, Brioude...
 * really beautiful way throughout Cévennes and along Allier river, slow and cheap. Else go to Lyon with TGV (expensive high-speed train) then Saint-Etienne.
 * From Toulouse, Aurillac: maybe a change in Neussargues, and change at Arvant station. See above instructions about Clermont-Ferrand.
 * From Paris:
 * 5 hours via Lyon, Saint-Etienne, with expensive TGV ticket.
 * 6 hours via Clermont-Ferrand.

From Saint-Etienne
(frequently tested! --Iubito)
 * 90km, hills near Saint-Etienne, between Basse-en-Basset and Retournac.
 * follow the Loire river via Aurec-sur-Loire, Basse-en-Basset, Retournac, Vorey, Lavoûte-sur-Loire.
 * higher traffic between Saint-Etienne and Aurec, after it's more quiet.

From Clermont-Ferrand

 * First join La Chaise Dieu : 2 ways
 * road #1 - 140km, more traffic, one small hill and one big (1500m D+) : Pont-du-Château, Courpière, follow D906 small hill with traffic, Ambert, Arlanc, big hill, La Chaise-Dieu
 * road #2 - 120km, quiet, (1600m D+) : Cournon - Le Cendre - Les Martres-de-Veyre - Vic-le-Comte - Sauxillanges - St Genès-la-Tourette - St Germain-l'Herm - St Alyre-d'Arlanc - La Chaise Dieu
 * After La Chaise-Dieu, you still climb. You can turn right to Allègre (D13) or follow Bellevue-la-Montagne, you now have 30km of descent!
 * After Saint-Paulien, avoid the N102, it's safer and more quiet on D13 via Blanzac, Rochelimagne, Polignac, turn left to Chadrac.

From Langogne

 * road #1: (tested! --Iubito)
 * follow the N88, up hill from Langogne to Pradelles
 * at La Sauvetat, go right, quit the N88 and avoid it (too much trucks!)
 * continue to Les Souils, Ussel, Le Brignon, Solignac-sur-Loire
 * at Solignac you can use the "green way" which on the old railway, take a light and hot clothes because there are tunnels. 20km of beautiful sand way.
 * or continue to Cussac (down hill), Taulhac (up hill, La Croix de Valhory), then take the N88 you are in the center of Le Puy.
 * road #2 really quiet: (partialy tested --Iubito)
 * D26 along the Naussac lake, then go to Landos via D126, D404, D88.
 * D53 Le Boucher-Saint-Nicolas, D31 Cayres, Séneujols, Saint-Christophe-sur-Dolaison, Vals-près-Le-Puy.

From Aubenas

 * avoid N102 and N88! The up hill "Côte de Mayre" is REALLY difficult, and this is the highest traffic road from Le Puy to Rhône Valley!
 * Go to the North on D578 road, Vals-les-Bains, Antraigues-sur-Volane.
 * Before Mézilhac turn West on D122, then D378 to Les Estables, D36 Laussonne, Lantriac, D15...

From Montélimar

 * via Meysse, Privas, Mézilhac, Les Estables, Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille: a lot of down/up hills

From Valence
An easy way from Rhône Valley: (tested --Iubito)
 * First avoid camping at Beauchastel (they hate cyclist) and St-Laurent-du-Pape (expensive and you can't pitch your tent!)
 * From Lavoulte-sur-Rhône (south of Valence), along the Eyrieux valley, via Saint-Laurent-du-Pape, Saint-Sauveur-de-Montagut (good restaurant on the right before the bridge). Then 2 choices :
 * road #1 : Le Cheylard, Saint-Martin-de-Vallamas (good camping). Before Saint-Julien-Boutières, turn left direction Chambonnet-Haut, Fay-sur-Lignon (here is the hardiest up-hill of this way). Then Boussoulet, down-hill to Saint-Julien-Chapteuil, Noustoulet, Brives-Charensac.
 * road #2 : follow D102 progressive up-hill on low-traffic road along a little river, Mézilhac, les Estables (avoid Le Béage), Le Monastier.

From Annonay
(tested --Iubito)
 * joining/crossing Annonay is a nightmare! This town is not bike-friendly. Up-hill after Annonay, after it's really ondulating (down/up hills) via Tence.
 * Queyrières is really beautiful but hard up hill, easier via Mazet-Saint-Voy
 * Boussoulet, ... then down-hill to Le Puy.

In all cases, avoid Mars (between Saint-Agrève and Boussoulet) and Le Béage (between Mézilhac and Le Monastier), after a beautiful downhill, you'll have to turn and go up again, impossible to build up speed! Go round via respectivly Le Chambon-sur-Lignon then Mazet-Saint-Voy, Les Estables.

Bus</FONT>
Local buses, called Tudip, can transport you in various quarters of the town and inner suburb. They are mainly useful for commuters and studients.
 * Central station for all lines is Place Michelet
 * They don't go to the train station (Place Michelet is 10 minutes walking). The train station nearest way is not easily accessible (the gate was closed in July 2009)
 * They don't run on Sunday.

Bicycles</FONT>
You can repair or buy a bike at Velomania (rue de la Transcévenole), or Intersport (avenue de Coubon) in Brives-Charensac.

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY</FONT>



 * Police Station:
 * Health Urgency:
 * Hospital:
 * Fireman Station:
 * Embassy:
 * Emergency Doctor:

INTERESTED LINKS</FONT>
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
 * Regional CS Group: Auvergne
 * Local CS Group: Le Puy-en-Velay


 * Le Puy-en-Velay on Wikivoyage
 * Le Puy-en-Velay on Hitchwiki
 * Le Puy-en-Velay on Wikipedia