FrenchKate

July 25: And on to Figeac?

Decazeville is about 18 miles from Figeac so we are close to the end of our hike, though not close enough to do the entire distance in one day. And I am a little concerned about accommodations between Decazeville and Figeac. There aren't many hamlets over this stretch.

The GR65 reaches a small rural village, Montredon about six miles from Decazeville. That hamlet has really our only option for accommodations between Decazeville and Figeac. La Mariotte is a very plain Chambres et table d'hôtes with accommodation for just ten people. Reservations are essential, but a bed and food are all we need.

It does have a nice garden.

This is another occasion to consider taking a taxi rather than walking. While at this moment, I am inclined to walk the nineteen miles--Decazeville-Montredon-Figeac, I am mindful that good things await in Figeac--a metropolis and a four star hotel--and I am tempted.

Reaching Figeac will mark the end of this leg of our compostelle Saint-Jacques. We will cast off our pilgrim robes and morph into tourists.

The hotel, Mercure Figeac Viguier Du Roy, is installed in an ancient hotel particulier. It was the home of the "Viguier du roi"--the king's magistrate--in Figeac during the ancien regime. It looks delicious.

The contrast between the simplicity of the Chambre d'hôtes in Montredon and the four-star hotel in Figeac could give us culture shock after a month on the trail.

July 23: Monument aux Morts, Decazeville

As you know, I am fascinated by the Monuments aux Morts that one finds throughout France, and Decazeville has a fantastic, very place specific one. It commemorates both the victims of war and the victims of labor, and, uniquely, does not list the names of the victims. Those are recorded on a plaque in the church. So the placement of the monument in front of the church is significant.

Originally commissioned in 1920, its installation was delayed until 1934 because the architect and the company hired to construct  were fighting. Eventually the city had to intervene to get the project back on task. The bronze decorations were cast by André Léon Galtié.  In 2018, it was listed as an historic monument along with 41 other monuments aux morts in southwestern France.

The monument is made of concrete faced with stone, and consists of an obelisk resting on a raised pedestal. A long vertical groove was hollowed out on the front and back of the obelisk, and a meter-tall bronze miner's lamp stands at front on a plinth that records the years of the World War I: 1914 - 1918. Around the base are bas-relief allegories--war and peace--as well as smaller images of a dead soldier and a trapped miner.

The obelisk and base are placed on a square platform; the monument is reached from any side by climbing five steps.

A decade ago, the city had planned to move the monument as part of street improvement program. It was--and still is (so you know how this tale turns out)--in the center of Decazeville on Place Wilson in front of the Notre-Dame church. Its location is bordered by traffic lanes, and the city planners felt that "the commemorations at the foot of the current monument do not always obtain the solemnity they deserve,"  due to the noise of automobile traffic. In addition, since this monument does not record the names of the dead, the town fathers thought adding the names and relocating the monument would give Decazeville "a real war memorial."

 These discussions took place under the heading of the "preservation of collective memory."

They left the final decision to veterans of previous conflicts, and the veterans raised objections. Said one, “Personally, I think this pacifist war memorial has its place in the place it occupies. On each of its faces, we find the symbols of miners, of peace and of war. These powerful symbols give this monument a special character. For the transmission of the values ​​expressed by these symbols, the monument must retain the place it occupies. It would be a mistake to move it. "

For another, “For me, this monument, established for the victims of war and labor, occupies an ideal location, and its displacement would take away a lot of its character, not only in terms of the memory we owe to those who died for the homeland, but also to the long and often tragic history of our former miners. In expressing this feeling, I am speaking not only on my own behalf, but also for a large number of people who are hostile to this displacement. They have shared with me their feeling that the monument should remain where it is--in the heart of the city and near the church, inside of which is the plaque in memory of our soldiers who gave their lives for our Fatherland."

The monument is still in front of Notre Dame so the nays carried the day. 

I find this discussion of the "preservation of collective memory" fascinating in light of our homegrown arguments about statues that were raised to celebrate heroes of the confederacy, those traitors who fought the USA to preserve slavery. While the American arguments also speak of preserving our collective memory, our heritage, the difference is in what the statues commemorate: they were installed to reinforce the supremacy of white Americans and terrorize black Americans. We must never to forget that dark history, but we must never celebrate or honor it.  Americans must move forward to a more perfect union.

July 21: Is this la Découverte open air mine?

I wonder if this is a before view of the open air mine, la Découverte, that is now a pleasant place for a walk?

The second photo doesn't show the town in the distance, but that could just be the angle from which it was taken. I speculate that the old photo was taken from the south, looking north to Decazeville. The current photo was taken from the east side of the mine, looking to the terraces on the west. The mine has filled up with water so what looks like a lawn in the second photo is actually a lake.

la Découverte mine is easy to spot on google maps--that great green O just south of town.

July 19: Decazeville

Our next stop, Decazeville, is 10 miles from Conques; the GR 6 and the GR 65 diverge after Conques so we will need to choose to follow one or the other.

The GR65 is the traditional route taken by most pilgrims. It is shorter than the GR 6 trail--9.6 miles for the GR 65 versus 10.9 for the GR6 trail--but three of those miles are on a departmental road.  It passes a hamlet, Noaillac, which has a pretty little chapel dedicated to St Roch.

The GR 6, however, though longer, is prettier...and hillier. The route follows trails and forest roads. 

I am curious about Decazeville, Most of the towns we have passed through are primarily agricultural. Decazeville, however, was, and is, industrial. Coal had been mined there from the 17th century--in fact, the French kings gave the mines to their mistresses--but production expanded in the 19th century when the Duc de Decazes, who had inherited the mines, created  "Houillères et Fonderies de l'Aveyron" (Mines and Foundries of Aveyron.) His investments put Decazeville on the map, so much so that the name of the town was changed to honor him. It had been La salle and became Decazeville, a major coal mining center; the population grew from 2700 to 15,000 over the course of the 19th century and early 10th century. At at its peak in 1936, roughly 9,000 workers produced a million tons of steel. However, since its peak, the population has declined to just 5,400 people. The last mine closed in 2001, but the town had been suffering from the decline of the mining industry--and the strikes that accompanied that decline--for decades. Today it has diversified its economy to metallurgy, woodworking, metal fabrication, and the production of steel tubing.

Tourism has not been neglected. A museum in a former industrial building showcases the equipment, machines, the documents and plans, and vehicles of the local industrial activities: mining coal, iron, steel, zinc, cast iron, producing glass and brick. In addition, the open-pit mine La Découverte is open to the public and makes for beautiful walks. 

So I am curious about this little town. As far as I can figure out from the internet, Decazeville basically started in the first part of the 19th century. Even the church is 19th century,  So I expect to find that most of the buildings and houses are no older than 19th century.  In addition, since this was a coal-mining town, I expect most of the houses to be modest, working class homes. Unlike most towns in France, I won't find there the relicts of the feudal era--the chateaux and monasteries--nor the classical buildings that mark the ancien regime. Finally, since the population is now one-third of what it was 100 years ago, I imagine we will see abandoned buildings and areas of urban renewal.

I took some screenshots from google maps streetview of the kinds of architecture I expect to find--Second Empire establishments, modern buildings, The aerial view is from the tourist bureau.

July 9: Leaving Conques

The GR65 leaves Conques via a pretty pilgrim's bridge built in 1410. It is imaginatively named "pont sur le Dourdou"--bridge over the Dourdou--but sometimes it called the Roman bridge, because its name in Occitan--"romieu"  (meaning "pilgrim")--was mistakenly translated into French as "roman."  Then the trail begins to climb steeply; we will have an arduous ascent of about 1000 feet on narrow, rocky paths.

You pass the pretty little chapelle de Ste-Foy as you scale the hill. According to legend, back in the 9th century, the exhausted monk bringing the reliquary of Sainte Foy from Agen to Conques fell asleep on this spot. As he slept, St Foy appeared to him and asked "Do you want wine for a day or water for eternity" and the monk opted for water. Then, striking the rock with his staff, he revealed a spring that still flows beneath the chapel. The water is reputed to have healing properties.

At the top we will be exhausted, and we will discover cows, pastureland and incredible views.

My husband and I did a circular hike on this trail in 2007, using directions in French, and we got thoroughly lost. Instead of the 3.5-mile trail on the GR65 that we meant to follow, we ended up walking ten miles or so without any idea of where we were. We finally picked up the D232 and followed it back to Conques. But it was so beautiful, we had no regrets.

On our pilgrimage, however, I am sure we won't get lost. My French is better, and we'll be seasoned by the time we take on the GR65 outside of Conques. We'll be clear about the difference between "gauche," "tout droit" and "droit," and all will go swimmingly. 

July 7: Treasures of Conques: Saint Foy

Conques houses one of the most astonishing treasures in France: the golden, bejewelled reliquary of Sainte-Foy in majesty. Originally created in the 9th and 10th centuries, the statue is made of silver gilt over a crude wooden frame and stands 33" high. Its surface is encrusted with precious jewels and cameos donated by the faithful over the centuries.

The rather awkward hands and arms date to the 16th century. The original configuration of the hards is unknown.

The hollowed gold head comes from an antique Roman bust (4th or 5th century). Part of a skull dating to the 3rd century (the era of Foy's martyrdom) is enclosed inside.

The reliquary survives because it was hidden in an interior wall in the Abbey Church of Ste-Foy during the 16th century religious wars, and only rediscovered in the 19th century (after so many other treasures were destroyed during the ravages of the Revolution.)

Today, the reliquary is found in a glass case in a very secure vault (though visitors can enter to view the treasures of Conques.) It is removed only for a candlelight procession on the Sunday closest to her feast day (October 6). The vault has some other spectacular religious artifacts, but Ste-Foy is the star.

In some ways, in fact, Ste-Foy ranks with the Bayeaux Tapestry as a treasure of French culture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 6: Treasures of Conques--the Abbey Church of St-Foy

The Abbey Church of St-Foy, a Romanesque treasure modeled on Saint-Sernin in Toulouse, dates to the 11th century. Like many pilgrimage churches, it has a Latin cross plan: a rectangular building with a central nave (barrel-vaulted and lined with arches), crossed by a transept, with side aisles and ambulatory. Above the side aisles is a second level that provides structural stability, though the faithful could also walk there.   

The tympanum is a magnificent example of a medieval last judgment--the good being welcomed into Paradise, the wicked being cast into Hell. The capitals are first rate--a bible in stone.

The story of how Conques was settled is classic; a similar story is told in many monastic sites. Monks fled from invaders (pagans, Saracens in Spain), a holy man (Dadon at Conques) established a hermitage in this remote wilderness, and his holiness attracted so many followers that his hermitage evolved into a monastery (around 805), and the monastery was placed under the protection of the king (Louis the Pious (son of Charlemagne) around 817.) 

The story of the abbey of Conques has a unique twist. In the third century a 13-year old child, Foy (Faith) was tortured and killed by the Romans for refusing to renounce her Christian faith. Thanks to miracles attributed to her, martyred Foy was consecrated as a saint, and her relics in Agen attracted the faithful. This was a time when the prosperity of churches depended on possessing such holy relics, and Conques had no relics. Some sources say that a monk from Conques, Aronisde, stole Foy's relics in 866 and took them to Conques. It seems more likely, though less colorful, that the relics were sent to Conques for safe-keeping during the troubled era when Vikings harassed southwestern France. In any case, Foy's relics were not returned, and the pilgrims who followed her to Conques brought prosperity to the Abbey of Conques and necessitated the new, remarkable church.

It is hard to imagine how remote this location was in the 8th century. It is remote even now.  Prosper Merimee, the Inspector General of Historic Monuments--given credit for saving the building--was stunned to discover "such richness in a virtual desert." He listed the church as an historic monument in 1840, and obtained funding for its restoration.

During the tourist season, (May to September) the church is open after dusk (9:30 PM to be precise), and visitors can admire the extraordinary capitals and modern glass windows up close on the second level gallery. My husband and I did this tour when we visited in 2007, and it was splendid. I look forward to doing it again. 

July 1: Our trip so far

I've lost track of how many days we have been hiking. Here is a quick review, and I've added hypothetical dates to make it more concrete. Basically, by the time we reach Conques we will have been walking more or less daily for a month (our pace is twice as slow as the pace recommended by most guidebooks), and if our goal is Figeac, we will have three or four more days of walking left.

We also need to think about how the trip will end. Go full tourist and spend a few days in Toulouse? Return to Paris? Go to Chartres to see perhaps the most magnificent cathedral in Christendom? Go to Versailles for a couple days? Just head home?

So many, many options.

Paris (June 1, 2, 3, 4)

Le Puy-en-Velay (June 5, 6, 7)

Montbonnet (June 8)

Saint Privat d'Allier (June 9)

Montrisol (June 10)

Saugues (June 11 & 12)

Saint Alban-sur-Limagnole (June 13)

Les Gentianes/Montrisol/Les Quatre Chemin (one of these) (June 14)

Aumont-Aubrac (June 15-16)

Nasbinais (June 17)

Aubrac (June 18)

St Chely d'Aubrac (June 19)

St Come d'Olt (June 20)

Espalion (June 21 - June 22)

Estaing (June 23 - 24)

Campuac (June 25)

Golinac (June 26)

Espeyrac (June 27)

Sénergues (June 28)

Conques (June 29)

The images were taken from a well-done publicity video about the GR65 made by the Aveyron tourist bureau. You can view the entire 3:28 seconds here.