Geographically speaking, the village called Arlempdes is the site of the first château on the Loire River. It's very close to the source of the Loire, 15 miles east. Here's the first view we had of Arlempdes (pop. 134), which is less than 20 miles south of Le Puy-en-Velay in the Haute-Loire département of Auverge.
Obviously, the village cemetery is the most striking thing in this image. There was a Roman camp near here in the first century B.C. The site has been inhabited since the high Middle Ages (between the 6th and 10th centuries), and the church dates back to the 12th century.
Here's a view showing less of the cemetery. Arlempdes is, at least to me, an unusual looking word in French. It derives from an old Celtic term or expression meaning something like "sacred place." According to the article about Arlempdes in French Wikipédia and also the Michelin Green Guide, it's pronounced as if it were spelled Arlandes [ar-'lãd], with ã being the French nasal A vowel.
It's kind of hard to distinguish the ruins of the old château in the first two photos here. They blend into the rock in the background. In this third view, you can see them a little better. The château ruins are open to the public from March 15 to October 15. We were there a few days to early to be able to go in, but we did go for a walk around the village, taking advantage of the improving weather that day.
An unusual looking place to go with the unusual name.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the pronunciation of the name of that lovely small village with a big cemetery. Since I had never heard that name pronounced by any locals I wasn't sure my own pronunciation was the right one. So you confirm I was right after all!
ReplyDeleteWhile looking for words with the emp[d] letter combination in French, I found this website you mightenjoy.
DeleteOn the third photo, it looks like the structure on the right of the chateau's ruins is a small chapel. It seems there is some kind of fronton that I thought were stairs going up the cliff. Any idea?
ReplyDeleteBefore writing my comment above, I should have googled Arlempdes where I found a photo of the ruins showing a small chapel.
DeleteOnce again, I'll try to Html the photo but I'm afraid it wont work . In any case here is the link https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Chateau_d%27Arlempdes_depuis_le_camp_d%27Antoune.jpg
Never a dull moment !
DeleteWikipédia me donne ceci : La chapelle castrale Saint-Jacques du XIIe siècle, bâtie en pierre rouge, et nouvellement rénovée, est la seule partie conservée du château féodal primitif élevé au XIIe siècle. Peu décorée et d’aspect rustique à l’intérieur, elle se compose d’une nef voûtée en berceau, aux parois latérales évidées sous un arc de décharge surbaissé, se prolongeant par une abside ronde voûtée en cul-de-four, plus ou moins de même largeur.
DeleteThank you for the information.
DeleteI never would have guessed the pronunciation of the town Arlempdes form the spelling!
ReplyDeleteThe muted colors are lovely.
ReplyDelete