La Belle Fontaine de Sainte-Montaine

Sainte-Montaine

Deep in the Sologne of the Cher, a whole village bears the name of a saint about whom almost nothing is known — and it is precisely this mystery that gives the place its charm. Tradition makes Montaine a daughter of Pepin the Elder, ancestor of Charlemagne, who withdrew to these woods to live in prayer; scholars see in this only a late legend, but the people of the Sologne have never stopped coming to her fountain. The finest story is that of the basket: as a young servant on a farm, Montaine is said to have broken her pitcher on her way to fetch water. Her mistress, mockingly, sent her back to the spring with a wicker basket. In tears, the girl prayed — and brought back the basket full of water that did not leak, while the thorns, it is said, vanished from her path. The spring, "cool in summer, warm in winter", was reputed to cure fevers and aches; women came to drink from it to obtain fertility, and stones from the site were carried away as talismans. Every Whit Monday, the pilgrimage still gathers the faithful and the curious around the oratory and the sheltered spring, from which flows the stream with the pretty name of Boute-Vive. Patron saint of the Sologne, Montaine also watches over an endearing village, with its communal pond, its 12th–13th-century church and the memory of the novelist Marguerite Audoux.

Getting there : About 1 km from the village of Sainte-Montaine, south of Aubigny-sur-Nère, in the Sologne of the Cher; the spring gives rise to the Boute-Vive stream. Site freely accessible. Coordinates: village hall (point of approach); the fountain is signposted from the village.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound