La Chaise-Dieu

For the village in the Eure department, see Chaise-Dieu-du-Theil.

La Chaise-Dieu
Commune
Abbey of La Chaise-Dieu
Coat of arms
Location of La Chaise-Dieu
La Chaise-Dieu Show map of France La Chaise-Dieu Show map of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Coordinates: 45°19′20″N 3°41′51″E
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Haute-Loire
Arrondissement	Brioude
Canton	Plateau du Haut-Velay granitique
Intercommunality	CA du Puy-en-Velay
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	André Brivadis[1]
Area ^1	13.58 km^2 (5.24 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	601
• Density	44/km^2 (110/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	43048 /43160
Elevation	916–1,120 m (3,005–3,675 ft) (avg. 1,083 m or 3,553 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km^2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

La Chaise-Dieu (French pronunciation: [la ʃɛz djø]; Auvergnat: La Chasa Dieu) is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France. Its inhabitants are called Casadéens, from the Latin name of the city.

Geography

La Chaise-Dieu occupies a 1082 m butte which dominates a plain between the mounts of Livradois and Velay. The closest cities are Brioude, Ambert, and Le Puy-en-Velay.

The Senouire forms most of the commune's eastern and western borders.

History

The abbey church

La Chaise-Dieu means "the Seat of God" in French (from the Occitan "Chasa Dieu") and is a reference to the Benedictine abbey^[3] which was founded on the site in 1043 by Robert de Turlande, a kinsman of Gerald of Aurillac and canon of Saint Julian's church at Brioude, nearby. Robert served an apprenticeship at Cluny under Abbot Odilo, then served as abbot in the community he founded in the wilderness here, initially in the company of a repentant knight, Stephen. The traditional date of the founding is 28 December 1043. The abbey had over 300 monks and 42 outlying priories depending on it when Robert de Turlande died, probably in 1067. After his death, Robert was quickly canonized (1095) as Saint Robert de Turlande (also known as Saint Robert of Chaise-Dieu).^[4] The Chaise-Dieu continued to grow throughout the Middle Ages, becoming the motherhouse of further congregations of Black Monks. Pope Clement VI began his vocation as a monk at Chaise Dieu and was the patron of the vast abbey church (built 1344–1350), a suitable setting for his tomb.

The monks were driven out and the abbey secularized during the French Revolution. Clement's vast abbey church, his tomb and the abbey cloister remain. The fresco of the Dance of Death (ca 1470) is a famous example of this motif, which gained wide currency following the visitations of the Black Death. The partners of the figures are skeletons and the parade strictly follows precedence of contemporary society, with Adam and Eve preceding all: the pope then the emperor, the legate, the prince, the cardinal, the High Constable, the patriarch, the knight, then the abbot, the townsman, the merchant, the lady, ending with the lawyer, the minstrel, the clerk, the ploughman, the monk, the innocent child and the pilgrim.

Between 1727 and 1740, the Jansenist bishop Jean Soanen was exiled to the abbey.

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	900	—
1975	907	+0.11%
1982	789	−1.97%
1990	778	−0.18%
1999	772	−0.09%
2009	730	−0.56%
2014	630	−2.90%
2020	608	−0.59%
Source: INSEE[5]

Culture

French pianist Georges Cziffra started an annual festival of sacred music in La Chaise-Dieu in 1966.

See also

• Communes of the Haute-Loire department

References

1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
2. "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
3. La Chaise-Dieu Abbey website(in French)
4. "Saint of the Day". Archived from the original on 8 April 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2009.
5. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE

External links

• Visit La Chaise Dieu - Official website for tourism
• (in Polish) Photos of La Chaise-Dieu