ANCIENNE ABBAYE DE SAINTE-ENIMIE - GORGES DU TARN CAUSSES

In 951, under the aegis of the Bishop of Mende, the Benedictines from the Abbey of Saint-Chaffre-en-Velay, restore the old priory, founded in the sixth century by Bishop Saint Ilere. From the twelfth century, the future of the town is indeed based on a legend that the Church of Gevaudan has intelligently cultivated and exploited to engrave it in the collective unconscious. Thus, the Benedictines of Sainte-Enimie will succeed in reviving the faith, developing commerce and enriching the village. They will establish a religious power that will govern the region until the French Revolution. At the Revolution, the monastery is destroyed, its furniture and that of the church is burned. The abbey is disused and serves as a career. Only then remain the chapel Sainte-Madeleine, vestiges of the fortifications and the refectory of the monks, baptized "chapter house". This room can only be visited in July and August.