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Origin and history

The Church of Notre-Dame-des-Pauvres of Saint-Chély-d'Aubrac is one of the few remains of the powerful hospital of Aubrac, founded in the 12th century. This hospital, active as early as 1120, was created by Adalard, Viscount of Flanders, after his difficult journey to Compostela. The institution, both military and hospital, played a key role for pilgrims and travellers crossing the region.

The present church, built in the early 13th century, preserves traces of subsequent changes. The front door dates from the 14th century, while the bell tower, partly in granite and black lava, was completed in the 16th century. The latter was once crossed by a cloister, now extinct. The hospital, looted several times during the wars (Albigois, wars against the English, wars of Religion), declined from 1467 with the arrival of the abbots in command.

The definitive disappearance of the institution took place during the French Revolution. Today, the church, classified as a Historical Monument since 1925, remains an architectural and historical testimony of this past. It now belongs to the municipality of Saint-Chély-d'Aubrac and retains, with the Tower of the English and some walls, the memory of this major medieval hospital.

The site, marked by centuries of pilgrimages and conflicts, illustrates the strategic and religious importance of Aubrac in the Middle Ages. Its bell tower, a mixture of granite and lava, reflects the architectural evolutions and successive reconstructions related to the destruction suffered.

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