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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The cross of Montarcher is a cross of path erected in 1497 under the impulse of Vicar Claude Ferrier, whose monogram it bears. Located at the crossroads of VC 201 and rural road 42380, it marked the entrance to the parish cemetery created after the religious independence of the village. A lantern was hung there to announce deaths in the community.

Prior to the 15th century, Montarcher depended on the parish of Estivareilles, 8 km away. The inhabitants had to go there for burials, until Claude Ferrier obtained the creation of a local cemetery and the erection of this cross. This, sober and typical Burgundian style, embodies the transition to parish autonomy, sealed by the construction of the nearby church in the 12th century (recast in the 15th and 16th centuries).

The cross has been listed as historical monuments since 4 August 1978. It bears witness to the religious and funerary history of the village, linked to the road to Cluny (via Podiensis), medieval pilgrimage road. Its location near the church, itself built on a rocky spur of Gaulish origin, strengthens its anchoring in the local heritage.

The Vicar Claude Ferrier plays a central role in this heritage: he obtained not only the creation of the parish and cemetery, but also the enlargement of the church (Gothic nave of the fifteenth century, porch of the seventeenth century). The cross, with its protective Virgin facing outwards, reflects this dynamic of community structure around the place of worship.

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