Champeix and the marchidial

Champeix grew in the 13th century thanks to the Dauphins d’Auvergne who developed the wine production and the markets. Champeix was the secondary residence of the Dauphins d’Auvergne. In the Middle Age, castles often went hand in hand with commercial trades. Several owners of Castles in Auvergne created a market inside of their castles. It’s the case in Champeix where the castle’s district took the name of this old market. This district is called “marchidial”, which means “the market place”. The market changed in the 16th and 17th centuries to move at the bottom of the village on the Friday mornings. On this granitic headland, you’ll discover a chapel, the Saint-Jean church built on the rock, and also a part of the principal tower, the gardens and the basis of the donjon. The rest of the castle was destructed in the 17th century on the order of Richelieu. In the village, on the right side of the Couze Chambon, you’ll discover the Romanesque church Saint-Croix, built in the 12th century, probably at the place of an old monastery of Camaldule monks, and modified in the 15th and 16th centuries. A walking route offers the discovery of thematic gardens of Champeix: gardens in terrace, orchards, vegetable garden near the river. You’ll start the tour in the village.