I have often been told how beautiful Rocamadour is. And finally we managed to get here. We find a village. A medieval village. Like so many here in the Dordogne valley. It's on different levels, connected by stairs - and by two elevators that take you up and down.
In principle, there is only a single road in Rocamadour, which gently winds up from the bottom of the valley. To the right and left are stores, restaurants, hotels.
It's September, so it's the off-season. Nevertheless, there are surprisingly many people on the road, who have arrived by bus, in campers or their cars.
This place is indeed beautiful. Behind the medieval walls hides the 21st century. Technically. And in other ways, too. But is that the reason for the many visitors?
The history of the village may bring us closer to answering this question.
It actually has a long history, as it is known that people have lived here for at least 20,000 years. Nearby, in what is now the hamlet of L'Hospitalet, here is a cave that has paintings that are about 20,000 years old. And since there are many small caves in the cliffs of Rocamadour, at least some of them have probably been used as ritual places for a very, very long time. Moreover, it is known that in the 9th century there was already a kind of small chapel here dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and it originally belonged to a rather distant abbey, the abbey of Marcillac. It fell into the hands of a particularly powerful abbot, the abbot of Tulle, who had the idea of developing a great pilgrimage here.
Fortunately for him, the Virgin Mary helped a little, because it is said that she performed a first miracle here in 1148, and that between 1148 and 1172 she performed about 126 miracles, all recorded in a book called Le Livre des miracles de Notre-Dame de Rocamadour. It appeared in 1172, was widely distributed and attracted a great many pilgrims here.
It was for these pilgrims that, in the middle of the 12th century, the shrine was built, which we have directly opposite and which will become one of the greatest shrines of the Middle Ages. During the construction of this shrine, it is said that in 1166 the relics of Saint Amador were discovered, of whom it is said that he was a hermit who, many years ago, was the first to found the primitive abbey. And so this hermit was to become the most important personality of the shrine.
Anyone who thinks marketing is an invention of the modern age is sorely mistaken. Those responsible at that time certainly did not know the word, but effect and prerequisites to generate economic success: The most important relics are available. The most important miracles are documented. From the moment relics and miracles were had and this became known, pilgrims began to come very quickly in large numbers.
Rocamadour becomes the fourth largest pilgrimage site in the West, along with Jerusalem, Rome, Santiago. Today Rocamadour is a stage on the way to Santiago de Compostela. In the Middle Ages, this was the destination of a pilgrimage with thousands of pilgrims going on pilgrimage to Rocamadour every year.
It is still pilgrims who form a large part of the tourists. Especially the church, the shrine and the abbey built on the top level are still the headquarters from which the flow of pilgrims is coordinated. Volunteers from all over the world live here. For the Benedictines, who are now responsible for this heritage, it is a huge financial effort in secular France. The visitor service is to be maintained, which also affects the buildings ... and they are in urgent need of renovation in large parts. Whether it succeeds, depends on the money - whether the needed about 6 million euros, of which we heard, come together, is not yet certain. Suspense remains.
After so much history, the question remains whether the recommendations I had received met my expectations. The answer is a resounding "yes". We went along with the visitors, met nice people - which is important to us - and came to the conclusion that a day trip to this village is worth it, especially if you want to get involved with the locals.
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