GR®765 Chemin de Compostelle Etape 4 - Marols - Merle-Leignec

This museum shows the daily life and history of men and women living in the Forez mountains and on the Auvergne plateau at the beginning of 20th century. You will also discover a remarquable parish priest garden.We offer a range of activities and resources for schools and educational groups : a qualified staff, resources wich can be helpful to prepare your journey. The museums and collections provide exciting opportunities to learn about local History. The building is 80% accessible to visitors with disabilities.

Located in the Forez mountains, Marols is a thousand-year-old city built around its hamlets. Facing a majestic panorama, the fortified church now marks the center of a land of encounters, between traditions, modernity and the sweetness of life. Marols is a thousand-year old town built around a number of hamlets. Between its fortified church in the heart of the town and the recently magnificently renovated Domaine de Valinches lie 15 sq km of lovely countryside for local inhabitants and visitors to enjoy. With this remarkable heritage it was one of the first villages in the Department to earn the coveted title of "village of character".Marols takes its name from a combination of Celtic words meaning ‘a large clearing’ (maros ‘large’ and ialo ‘clearing’). The village developed in the Middle Ages thanks to its advantageous position close to an ancient Roman military road, the Bolène Way, which linked Lyons with Toulouse via Feurs and was still being used by medieval merchants and pilgrims on their way to Le Puy-en-Velay and Saint-Jacquesde-Compostelle. Plentiful woods, fertile farmland, lush pastures and willing workmen made Marols an attractive site for the Benedictine monks of Saint-Romain-le-Puy to build, under the authority of the Abbot of Ainay, their little priory in the 12th century. Marols Priory was a modest affair. The monks spent their time working the land and praying for mankind’s salvation. After a period of prosperity the priory fell into decline around AD 1280. In the following years Marols entered a sombre period marked by the Black Death and the famine, disease and insecurity which resulted from the Hundred Years’ War. The first chapel was of modest size, a single nave in the Romanesque style, and run by a chaplain and perhaps a couple of monks. The principal preoccupations of the little priory were to develop local agricultural resources and a simple religious environment. The village began to take shape in this period. The 12th and 13th centuries were prosperous. The 14th century was however blighted by the Black Death which ravaged the district of Saint-Bonnet-le-Château (in 1348) and various other troubles caused by the kings of England and France locking horns in the Hundred Years’ War. It was during this period that the village and the church were fortified to protect their inhabitants from marauders. In the 15th century the Benedictine monks from Ainay Abbey were replaced by the canons of Saint-Just from Lyons, a noble religious order whose lofty authority sowed discontent among the inhabitants of Marols. In the 16th century, during the Wars of Religion, Protestant troops under the direction of Baron des Adrets razed the village.

Montarcher lies between the Velay and Forez Mounts, and the Livradois Mountains. This village, perched at 1160 metres above sea level, offers an uninterrupted 360° view from the mound of the old fort.Perched at a height of 1,160 meters, Montarcher proudly displays its heritage charged with a tumultuous history. Already populated before the invasion of the Celts, it was in turn refuge, stronghold and place of worship. Visitors can discover an outstanding panorama and a source of fresh air. The village dominates Andrable Valley from a lofty granite peak 1,150 metres above sea level and affords the visitor an uninterrupted 360° view from the mound of the old fort. The faraway silhouettes of Pierre-sur-Haute, the highest peak in the Forez group (1634 m), Le Velay, Les Cévennes and even Mont Blanc can be seen from the village. In the 13th century the castle passed from the Counts of Forez into the hands of a wealthy family called Baffie and then later to the Saint-Bonnet and eventually the Rochebaron families. In the 15th century the castle was abandoned by its owners because of its lack of comfort. In 1452 Montarcher became a parish. Father Ferrier was the first person in Montarcher to maintain a register of births, marriages and deaths and his book has become one of the oldest documents of its kind in France. In 1536 Francis I took the county of Forez for the Crown; from then on Montarcher and Le Forez were most definitely part of France...