Rocamadour, spirit and nature.

Rocamadour, a village situated on the Causse, each year welcomes 1.5 million visitors and pilgrims.
Defying gravity, Rocamadour, clinging to the cliff, is a stack of brown roofs, of houses and churches. From the castle which crowns this audacious structure there is a sheer cliff of some 150 metres, at the base of which winds the river Alzou.

Rocamadour is remarkable for its 7 chapels which, since the early Middle Ages, have made up the shrine dedicated to Our Lady.
In fact, in the shelter under a rock in the middle of the cliff, a chapel had been built to house a mysterious Black Virgin. In 1166, an inhabitant of the region, finding himself on the point of death, ordered his family to entomb his remains at the entrance to the oratory. "Hardly had the earth been broken than the body of blessed Amadour was found intact and it was in that same state that it was placed inside the church".
In the same era, in 1172, in a simple and easy to read style, the accounts were recorded of the 126 miracles which occurred on the sites through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin. It was necessary to make a special place for the miraculous bell, today in the chapel of the Black Virgin, which rang for sailors in danger.

From then on, Rocamadour was a popular place of pilgrimage in the medieval Christian West. Numerous famous and not so famous pilgrims have passed through here: among the most famous, there was Saint Bernard, Saint Louis and Blanche de Castille. And in recent years, the composer Francis Poulenc, Edmond Michelet, Sister Emmanuelle… To show proof of their journey, they got the pilgrim's insignia, the "sportelle" (a medal).

Numerous legends are also told, such as the sword of Roland, the Durandal.

Situated close to the major routes which lead pilgrims to Saint James of Compostella, the place of worship is known as far away as Spain, Portugal, Quebec…

Over the centuries, Rocamadour has remained a symbol of faith and hope. We welcome pilgrims and visitors and offer them numerous activities and events: guided tours, processions, concerts...