Chalmazel

The commune of Chalmazel lies at the heart of the Forez mountains, a mountain range in the Massif Central separating the Dore valley from the Forez plain. The village lies at an altitude of 800 metres on the side of a valley bordered by the Lignon, a tributary of the Loire. The boundary of the commune is marked to the east by the Col de la Croix de Ladret (1,046 metres) and the Pic de Morière (1,137 metres), and to the west by the Col du Béal (1,390 metres) and the massif's highest point, Pierre-sur-Haute (1,631 metres). However, the latter is located on the commune of Sauvain for some 250 meters, unlike the winter sports resort on its flank, which remains on Chalmazel. The ridge running through the Col du Béal and Pierre-sur-Haute also marks the separation between the departments of Loire (Rhône-Alpes region) and Puy-de-Dôme (Auvergne region). It is home to vast, undulating plateaux of moorland dotted with peat bogs, known as the hautes Chaumes, classified Natura 2000 for their floristic interest.

The name Chalmazel has been around since ancient times. According to Albert Dauzat, the origin of the toponym could come from *calmis: high bare plateau, a Prelatin word; and mazel: mazet, mas, manse, house, from the Latin man(s)um, substantive past participle of the verb manere: to dwell.^[6][7][8]

Various spellings are attested over the centuries: Chalmazel in 1214, Chalmasel in 1225, Charmazel in 1313,^[9] Chalmazel in the 18th century (Cassini map).

After the Revolution, the parish became a commune: An II (1793): Chalmazelles. Bulletin des lois of 1801: Chalmazelle. And finally in 1939: Chalmazel, the definitive official spelling.

In 1231, Guy IV, Count of Forez, allowed his loyal vassal Arnaud de Marcilly to build a fortified house at Chalmazelles. The objectives were clear: on the one hand, to control the upper Lignon valley, a modest passageway between the provinces of Forez and Auvergne via the present-day Béal pass, and on the other, to guard the seigneury of Couzan, owned by the Damas family with links to the German Emperor (Renaud de Damas was not a secure vassal for the Count of Forez).

By 1250, Chalmazelle had become, along with Couzan, Rochefort and Urfé (aux d'Urfé), one of the four great keep seigneuries of the “evening mountains” (Monts du Forez).

The Talaru family succeeded the Marcilly family in the seigneury of Chalmazel: Béatrix de Marcilly, who had married Mathieu de Talaru, became heiress to Antoine de Marcilly, her brother, in 1388; the land of Chalmazel thus remained with the Talaru family (ancient nobility of Forez).

The church of Chalmazel seems to have been founded around 1270 under Jean de Marcilly, second lord of Chalmazel, and dedicated to Saint Jean-Baptiste, the patron saint of its founder.

The parish of Chalmazel was at that time an annex of Saint-Just-en-Bas; the oldest known parish priest of Chalmazel is Giraud de Boissel, originally from Saint-Just-en-Bas, who lived in 1370.^[10]

According to the Cahier des Visites (the bishop's inspection tour) of 1614, the parish was named Saint-Jehan-des-Neiges; then, in 1662, Exaltation of the Holy Cross, and finally Saint-Jean-Baptiste.^[11]

The ancient church of Saint-Jehan-des-Neiges was demolished in 1881 and replaced by the present-day church, best known for its famous stained-glass windows by Théodore Hanssen (1885-1957), an internationally renowned master glass artist.

On the death of the last Marquis, Louis-Justin de Talaru, in 1850, the château was bequeathed to the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, who used it as a hospice and dispensary until 1972.

It was part of the Loire Forez urban community.