ANCIENNE ABBAYE DE SAINTE-ENIMIE
During the Revolution, the monastery was destroyed, its furniture and that of the church was burned. The abbey is disused and used as a quarry. Only the Sainte-Madeleine chapel, the remains of the fortifications and the monks' refectory, called the "chapter house", remained. This room can only be visited in July and August.
"According to the legend, the abbey was founded by Enimie, daughter of King Clotaire II, cured of leprosy having bathed in the springs of Burles.
Between the 8th and 10th centuries, the two monasteries, one of women and the other of men, were destroyed by invasions. The bishop of Mende ceded the ruins of the male monastery to the abbey of Saint-Chaffre-en-Velay in 951. This monastery survived until 1789. The modern chapel of the Hermitage houses the cave where Saint Enimie would have lived. The remaining buildings do not date back beyond the 12th century. They are arranged at right angles on a platform. The building facing the south has been extensively remodelled. Only a vaulted room at the eastern end retains carved capitals. A 15th century fireplace exists on the first floor. The building to the east is more complete. It is a long room of four bays, covered by a barrel vault with engaged columns [...]".
Information from the Mérimée base
