After a fairly long bus ride from Le Puy we arrived at the village of Conques, clustered around the Abbaye de Ste-Foy. Sainte Foy was a young girl who became an early Christian martyr. Her relics were were first kept in a rival monastery. In the 9th century a monk from Conques stole the relics, thereby attracting pilgrims to this remote spot and establishing Conques as a stop on the pilgrimage route from Le Puy to Santiago de Compostela.

The tympanum, sculpted in 1135, depicts the Last Judgment, with the Devil in Hell on the lower right and Christ in Heaven in the central postion.

Click here for a larger picture and an explanation of the details of the tympanum.

In contrast, the interior had unusual stained glass made by the Fench abstract painter, Pierre Relieve, in 1987 in the 104 windows of the abbey.

After we left the abbey we walked around it to get a side view.

As we walked back to the bus, we also got a view of the abbey towers.

Although it was hazy, we could see the town of Rocamadour from a viewpoint on our way to Sarlat.

On y va to Sarlat