CONQUES , 37km north of Rodez, is
one of the great villages of southwest France. It occupies a
spectacular position on the flanks of the steep, densely wooded gorge
of the little River Dourdou , a tributary of the Lot. The only
public transport to the village is a daily service to Rodez, leaving
there in the afternoon and returning the following morning; in July and
August, there are also bus connections two or three times a week with
Villefranche-de-Rouergue and Entraygues/Espalion, as well as Rodez,
allowing you to visit Conques and return the same day.
It is the abbey which brought the village into
existence. Its origins go back to a hermit called Dadon who settled
here around 800 AD and founded a community of Benedictine monks, one of
whom pilfered the relics of the martyred girl, Ste Foy, from the
monastery at Agen. Known for her ability to cure blindness and liberate
captives, Ste Foy's presence brought the pilgrims flocking to Conques
in ever-increasing numbers, which earned the abbey a prime place on the
pilgrimage route to Compostela
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