Trifter

This spring I had the pleasure of visiting an old village in northern France called Vézelay. Friends of mine told me about this beautiful medieval town and encouraged me to visit it on my travel through France.

As I was in search of places of cultural value in addition to a much needed break from the modern society and its stresses, Vézelay proved to be a perfect place to spend a couple of days of my holiday.

In the Tourism guides, Vézelay is described as follows: “A high place of christianity since the Middle Ages, Vézelay, much visited due to the cult of saint Magdalena relics, became a meeting point for the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella in Spain. In 1146, Saint Bernard preached the Second crusade there. Philip Augustus and Richard the Lion Heart met here before embarking on the third crusade in 1190. The kind Saint Louis loved to retire within himself to Vézelay.”

In the 16th century Vézelay had serious confrontations during the wars of religion. As a result of that the abbey of the town was sold as a national property in 1796. The saint Magdalena basilica was saved from ruin in the 19th century by the architect Viollet-le-Duc, and it remains a masterpiece of romanesque art. It is visible from the valley as it arises on a hill, above the fields and the vineyards that surrounds this beautiful area.

I had the pleasure of spending 2 days enjoying and discovering the wonders of the area in which Vézelay is located. Surrounded by this beauty, fresh air and the promises of spring, this was a perfect meditative break.