Sainte-Enimie

File:Lozere Sainte-Enimie monastere ruines.jpg

The town is named after Énimie, who, according to a 13th-century poem by Bertran Carbonel troubadour of Marseille, was a daughter of the Merovingian king Clothar II.None of the contemporary sources mention a daughter by this name. When she reached marriageable age, she did not want to marry, preferring to care for lepers instead. According to Bertran, she asked God to help her avoid marriage; she was then infected with leprosy. Her father wished for her to be cured and had her taken to be bathed in the waters of Gévaudan, to no avail. An attempt at Bagnols-les-Bains was equally unsuccessful, but a river in Burlats near the Tarn miraculously cured her disease. However, when she returned home to marry her noble suitor, she was once again infected with leprosy and returned to Burlats, where she was cured once more. This process was repeated a third time, after which it was decided that she must remain in that area. She briefly lived in a cave before starting a convent and becoming a nun and eventually died there. When her brother Dagobert I came to look for relics buried with her to decorate his Basilica of Saint-Denis, the nuns tricked him, and he ended up finding the relics of Énimie's niece instead.{{cite web|title=La légende de Sainte-Enimie|language=French|trans-title=The legend of Sainte-Enimie|url=http://www.gorgesdutarn.net/IMG/pdf/legendes_des_gorges_du_tarn.pdf|publisher=Gorges du Tarn|access-date=13 January 2014}}{{cite book|last=Letcher|first=Piers|title=Eccentric France: The Bradt Guide to Mad, Magical and Marvellous France|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5_7IRHZGyzMC&pg=PA81|year=2003|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides|isbn=978-1-84162-068-8|page=81}}

Two monasteries, one male and one female, were built in the area but destroyed by invasions.{{Base Mérimée|PA00103916}} Stephen, Bishop of Mende, requested that a Benedictine monastery be built there, and it was completed in 951. It became a popular pilgrimage destination due to the miraculous story surrounding its founding.

During the French Revolution in 1798, the monastery was destroyed and the town renamed "Puy Roc"; however, this lasted only a short time.{{cite web|title=Les villages des Gorges du Tarn|language=French|trans-title=The villages of the Gorges du Tarn|url=http://www.gorgesdutarn.net/Les-villages-des-Gorges-du-Tarn-et-des-Causses|publisher=Gorges du Tarn|access-date=13 January 2014}}

In 1905, a road was built along the Tarn, giving the village greater commercial exposure.{{cite book|last=Berry|first=Oliver|title=Discover France|chapter=Gorges du Tarn|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N-QEGxA6r1YC&pg=PA788|year=2009|publisher=Lonely Planet|isbn=978-1-74220-339-3|page=788}} Starting in the 1950s, tourism became a major part of Sainte-Enimie's economy. It was recently connected more closely to the rest of France with the construction of the A75 autoroute.

Sainte-Enimie is located in the Gorges du Tarn in the Lozère department of southern France. It has an area of {{convert|87.34|km2}}.{{Cassini-Ehess|31346|Sainte-Enimie}} The village is close to other Gévaudan towns including Ispagnac, Chanac, and Quézac, and is {{convert|78|km}} away from Millau.{{cite web|title=Sainte Enimie Property Insight|url=http://www.french-property.com/property/languedoc_roussillon/lozere/sainte_enimie/insight/|publisher=French-Property.com|access-date=15 January 2014}}

File:View of Sainte-Enimie, looking down from the north east, June 2015.jpg

{{geographic location

|Centre=Sainte-Enimie

|Northwest=Chanac

|North=Balsièges

|Northeast=Saint-Bauzile

|East=Ispagnac

|Southeast=Montbrun

|South=Mas-Saint-Chély

|Southwest=La Malène

|West=Laval-du-Tarn

|width=auto

}}

File:Castelbouc village by the river Tarn.jpg

In addition to the village of Sainte-Enimie, several other villages are located on the territory of the commune. They include:

• Boisset
• Castelbouc
• Champerboux
• Hauterives
• Pougnadoires
• Prades
• Saint-Chély-du-Tarn

Sainte-Enimie is a popular tourist destination. All that remains of the original 10th-century abbey, which was mostly destroyed in the French Revolution, is a chapter house and chapel. Other popular sites include the Ecomusée du Vieux Logis, a Romanesque church from the 14th century,{{cite web|title=Sainte Énimie|language=French|url=http://www.cevennes-tourisme.fr/fr/il4-territoire_i32_p174-sainte-enimie.aspx|publisher=Cévennes National Park|access-date=17 January 2014}} and the Chapel of Saint Madeleine, which also dates back to the 14th century. Saint-Enimie is located near the Cévennes National Park, {{convert|22|km}} away from the Aven Armand cave.{{cite web|title=Practical informations|url=http://www.aven-armand.com/en-gb/infospratiques.aspx|publisher=Aven Armand|access-date=17 January 2014}}

{{Historical populations

|source = EHESS and INSEE (2007-2019){{cite web|url=https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/2123878?geo=COM-48146|title=Populations légales 2012: Commune de Sainte-Enimie (48146)|publisher=INSEE|date=27 December 2014}}

|percentages = pagr

|align = none

|1962 |512

|1968 |436

|1975 |564

|1982 |491

|1990 |473

|1999 |509

|2007 |523

|2012 |522

|2022 |500

}}

• Communes of the Lozère department

{{reflist|2}}

{{Commons category|Sainte-Enimie}}

• [http://www.sainte-enimie.fr Marie de Saint-Enimie] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120925022403/http://www.sainte-enimie.fr/ |date=25 September 2012 }} {{in lang|fr}}
• [http://www.gorgesdutarn.net/ Gorges du Tarn] {{in lang|fr}}

{{Les Plus Beaux Villages de France}}

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Category:Former communes of Lozère

Category:Plus Beaux Villages de France

Category:Lozère communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia