• Director(s):

    DECOMBES (EMMANUEL)

  • Producer(s):

    SYSTEM TV, ARTE FRANCE

  • Territories:

    Worldwide.

  • Production year:

    2012

  • Language(s):

    German, English, Spanish, French, Polish

  • Rights:

    TV, DVD, NON-THEATRICAL, INTERNET, VOD

Vezelay was one of the first 5 French villages to be classed on Unesco’s World Heritage list in 1979.

The village was originally based around a Benedictine abbey, supposedly containing the remains of Mary Magdalene. In 873, the abbey was pillaged by Normans who sailed up the Seine, the Yonne and the Cure. The abbey was then moved to a hill, and Benedictine monks replaced the nuns. The town suffered during the revolution, and the abbey was sold as a national treasure in 1796. It would later be saved from ruin and oblivion by the architect Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th century, and regain its former splendour and glory.