Domaine des Boissets

4 points of interest

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  History

  Sainte-Enimie

  The mediaeval village of Sainte-Enimie has been a tourist destination ever since pilgrims on the way to Santiago di Compostella were persuaded by locals to make a detour to pray at Ste-Enimie’s tomb. In 951, Benedictine monks from the abbey of Saint-Chaffre-en-Velay, led by the bishop of Mende, re-established the old priory, which had been founded in the 6th century by Bishop St-Lière. From the 12th century onwards, the village’s future was assured by the legend, which the Church in Gévaudan cleverly cultivated and exploited until it was carved into the collective unconscious. The Benedictines of Sainte-Enimie were thus able to revive faith, develop trade and enrich the village. Over time, they put in place a religious authority that ruled the region until the French Revolution.

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  History

  The vestiges of the abbey

  During the Revolution, the monastery was destroyed and its furnishings burned alongside those of the church. The abbey was deconsecrated and used as a quarry. Only St-Madeline’s chapel, vestiges of the fortifications and the monk’s refectory (called the chapterhouse) remain.
  The Tarn Gorge was on the official list of historical monuments, sites and furnishings from 1908 to 1950. Within the municipality of Sainte-Enimie, several buildings, including the abbey, the church and its furnishings, are listed. The monastery has been partly rebuilt and turned in a state secondary school.

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  Agriculture

  The terraces

  Locals have transformed the rocky slopes into hanging gardens by making use of the smallest of flat spaces. They carried the soil up in baskets or sacks on their backs. This is where they would have planted their vegetables and fruit trees (peach, walnut, almond). Until the early 20th century, almond trees were the “great resource” that made good use of soils too poor for other crops.
  Until 1851, there were 54 hectares of grapevines for 850 inhabitants. The vineyards clung to 45-degree slopes, which made work difficult. The low yield, disease and mechanisation were all factors in the abandonment of this crop. The municipality of Ispagnac reintroduced vines in 2003 when a winemaker settled there; a second settled in Blajoux in 2006.
  

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  History

  Domaine des Boissets

  The hamlet of Les Boissets was already in existence in the 18th century, but the stone framework of several windows suggests that some buildings were built as early as the 15th.. The hamlet consists of six buildings, houses, outbuildings and sheepfolds, in the typical Caussenard style. The internal courtyard was closed off by walls that were much higher than they are today. It was a fortified agricultural estate. A bread oven, cisterns and threshing floor complete the complex, showing that the inhabitants lived in autarky. The farm was operational until 1995.