Perched at the top of a volcanic peak, this French chapel is dizzying and contains many secrets

Built atop a dizzying peak, this French chapel is home to a hidden treasure.

There are monuments in France that are particularly spectacular, both for the audacity of their construction and the majesty of their construction. of their site or the preciosity of their site of their reliquaries. From the top of its rock, this chapel unlike any other located in France contemplates its visitors in search of spirituality. or History.

You have to climb 268 steps carved into the stone to reach this jewel of the past, perched on a rock. 82mètres at the top of a volcanic peak. Built in the 10th century for the first recognized pilgrim of Santiago de Compostela, the Saint-Michel chapel of # 39;Aiguilhe is remarkable for its construction which follows the contours of the rock covered with molten lava cooled by the water. A jewel of Romanesque architecture and oriental inspiration with naturally flowered walls, this chapel built by Canon Truanus for the Bishop of Puy-en-Velay Godescalc attracts curiosity of tourists and pilgrims from all over the world, ready to welcome you. strain your calves to the top of the volcanic rock of Aiguilhe, a neighboring commune located to the north of Puy-en-Velay in Haute -Loire.

The most precious of the secrets of Saint-Michel d'Aiguilhe resides within inside. A chance discovery during a restoration operation in 1955 created a surprise: while digging under the altar of the chapel , the workers found a “Roman Christ from the 11th century, particularly beautiful, in beautiful proportions with a very serene face and not suffering in olive wood, according to Michel Roussel, former Mayor of Aiguilhe and secretary of the European network of sites and paths of Saint -Michel, report by France Bleu. Among the other buried treasures, we find é their place, for the pleasure of all, a very rare silver pectoral cross whose origin remains unknown, a reliquary urn, an ivory box…

Finally motivated by the climb ? Fortunately, levels have been reached. arranged to breathe a little! Did you also know that the magic of this unusual chapel is associated with the legend of the virgin's leap ? It tells that the archangel Saint-Michel saved & twice a young virgin accused of bad behavior who had thrown herself from the top of the rock. Strengthened by this miraculous protection, she devoted herself to a third jump. This last attempt, driven by pride, earned her the abandonment of her protector and her death. ;mis&eacutely…