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Key figures

Origin and history

The statue Notre-Dame de France is a colossal work in cast iron designed by Jean-Marie Bonnassieux between 1856 and 1860. It was made from 150 tons of metal from Russian guns captured during the siege of Sevastopol (1855), offered by Napoleon III. The 16-metre-high Virgin with Child overlooks the town of Puy-en-Velay from the Corneille Rock, a basaltic neck culminating at 757 m above sea level. Its archose pedestal, openworked with a 33 steps staircase, houses a hollow interior accessible by 58 spiral steps, leading to the crown of the Virgin.

The idea of the monument was born in 1850 under the impulse of Jesuit Xavier de Ravignan and Abbé Théodore Combalot, relayed by Bishop Auguste de Morlhon. A European competition was launched in 1853, attracting 53 models, including Bonnassieux, which was unanimously selected. The public subscription and the imperial gift allowed to finance the work, solemnly blessed on 12 September 1860 in front of 120,000 faithful. The statue, classified in 1997, was restored in 2012 and remains the most visited site in Haute-Loire.

A symbol of piety and military victory, the statue also embodies a technical feat: its self-supporting structure, composed of 100 bolted pieces, weighs 835 tons. The anatomical details are impressive (foots of 1.92 m, hand of the Child Jesus 1,56 m). A tenacious, defiant legend claims that Bonnassieux committed suicide after a misposition of the Child. In fact, he died in Paris in 1892, at 81 years of age.

Corneille Rock, a remarkable geological site, was chosen for its altitude and visibility. The Blavozy stone pedestal supports a platform offering a panorama of the city and surrounding mountains. Access to the crown, long forbidden, was reopened in 2013 after the laying of a translucent dome. Each level offers openings to landscapes, strengthening the link between the monument and its territory.

The statue takes place in a context of Marian renewal in the 19th century, marked by colossal achievements such as Fourvière in Lyon. In Puy, a high medieval pilgrimage site, it revives a tradition of devotion to the Virgin, while celebrating industrial modernity (bottom, metal assembly). Its participatory financing and its grand opening illustrate the popular and clerical enthusiasm of the time.

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