Country France Department Maine-et-Loire Population (1999) 1,236 Local time Tuesday 6:40 AM | Region Pays de la Loire Canton Montreuil-Bellay Area 15.87 km² Arrondissement Saumur | |
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Intercommunality Saumur Loire Développement Weather 2°C, Wind W at 5 km/h, 98% Humidity Points of interest Domaine de la Paleine, Franck et Ingrid Bimont, Domaine du Moulin de l'Horiz | ||
Le Puy-Notre-Dame or Le Puy is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.
Contents
Map of 49260 Le Puy-Notre-Dame, France
The village is built on the hill of Puy.
Its inhabitants are known as Puechens.
History
Protohistoric traces have been found.
Le Puy (Podio beatae Mariae in the 7th century had become known as Puy-la-Montagne by 1793 and the hill of Puy as Mary's Mountain. William 9th, Duke of Aquitaine is reputed to have brought back a waistband of the Virgin Mary from the Crusades and deposited it in the church. His granddaughter Eleanor of Aquitaine founded a collegial church to honour the relic which, according to legend, facilitated pregnancies and male offspring. Louis XI founded a chapter about 1480 and this became a site of pilgrimage the Sunday after 8 September, the Nativity. The relic can still be viewed here.
The town became a stop on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela (17th century houses used by the pilgims still exist).
Its location between the territories of the Counts of Anjou and Aquitaine lent it strategic importance and traces of an encircling town wall remain.
Places
Agriculture
Local agricultural production is mixed with vineyards (15 km²), orchards and market gardening taking place alongside pasture and woodlands. Beekeeping also takes place. The Cave Saint-Maur in Sanziers is well worth a visit for its mushroom production. Local A.O.C wines are Anjou, Saumur, and sparkling Saumur.
Miscellaneous
Puy derives from the Provençal word "Puech", meaning an isolated hill.