Arlempdes

At the southern edge of Velay, classified among the Most Beautiful Villages of France, Arlempdes is distinguished by its rock, a basalt dyke on which stands the first of the châteaux of the Loire.

Nestled in a loop of the Loire gorges, but seemingly suspended above the river, Arlempdes brilliantly plays on this ambivalence, both airy and solidly anchored in an environment of fir forests and lava flows. It stands out from the villages of the Velay plateau, which one traverses completely before reaching the fracture created by the Loire. Perched on a basalt dyke whose battered silhouette rises from the swirling waters of the young river, the village and the ruins of its castle inevitably evoke the Greek monasteries of Meteora – a fascinating spectacle that ignites the imagination.

Indeed, the village and its organ pipes resonate with legends and mystery, with occupation of the site dating back to Celtic antiquity. In those distant times, the rock of Arlempdes held a temple dedicated to Lug, but also to Teutates and Esus. From that era, the strategic importance of the site is evidenced by the presence of the Roman camp of Antoune, linked to the legend of the White Lady. The castle itself dates from the 13th and 16th centuries. Closely following the rock, its ramparts dominate the river and its pebble beaches of about one hundred meters, while opposite, on the north slope, huddle the houses of the village.

In the 16th century, through a game of alliances and successions, the castle came into the possession of Diane de Poitiers, hence the presence of her arms engraved in a wall of the castle. However, the castle quickly fell into disrepair, so that today only ruins remain, with the notable exception of the Saint-Jacques castle chapel (12th century). Leaning into the void, this small edifice stands out for its arrangement of red stones and the mineral austerity of its decoration. At the entrance of the village, the postern, an ancient door of the outer enclosure of the castle, is said to date from 1066; it allows access to the Saint-Pierre church, a Romanesque building from the 12th century (fully restored in 2003), characterized by its comb-shaped belfry and its four-column portal, in front of which stands a superb 15th-century historiated cross. For the rest, the village has only a handful of typical Velay houses, which one discovers while twisting their feet on the cobbled streets of the Loire. Following the slope, one reaches the castle, as well as the viewpoint it offers over the chaotic landscape of the Loire gorges.

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