Département: Haute-Loire
Le Puy, chief town of the département of Haute-Loire, lies on the right bank of the river Borne, on a rolling plateau on the eastern border of Auvergne. The town is dominated by its Cathedral and by two extraordinary natural features, the Rocher Corneille (755m/2,477ft) and
the rock pinnacle known as the Aiguilhe St-Michel (both volcanic chimneys shaped by erosion and weathering).
Le Puy has a long tradition in the manufacture of pillow lace.
Le Puy was founded in the sixth century as the see of the bishop of the Velay, and since the 10th century has been a great pilgrimage center with a much revered Black Virgin (pilgrimage on Aug. 15). It was also the starting point of one of the pilgrim routes to Santiago de Compostela, and among the earliest pilgrims was a 10th century bishop of Le Puy, who after his safe return built the chapel of St-Michel on the Aiguilhe.
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