Ermitage Saint-Walfroy

Margut

On the summit of this hill on the edge of the Ardennes there took place, in the 6th century, an episode unique in the religious history of the West. Around 565, a deacon named Walfroy — come, the ancient sources say, from the distant lands of Pannonia, and burning to imitate Saint Martin — settled on this hill where the inhabitants still venerated a great pagan idol, which tradition identifies with Diana or with the local goddess of the forests. To strike people's imaginations, he did what no monk of the West had dared: he perched himself on a column, in the manner of the stylites of the East, and stayed there barefoot through the Ardennes winters, preaching from his perch. His contemporary Gregory of Tours, who met him and tells his story, reports that the bishops finally ordered him to come down: "the harshness of the climate does not allow it," they told him, inviting him not to compare himself to Simeon Stylites. Walfroy obeyed, obtained the overthrow of the idol, built a church dedicated to Saint Martin and evangelised the country until his death around 600 — he is known as the apostle of the Ardennes. The pilgrimage church was rebuilt in 1957 on the foundations of the 6th-century sanctuary; it houses the relics of the saint and stained glass by the master glass-maker Pierre Gaudin. The panorama over the valley of the Chiers is in itself worth the climb.

Getting there : At Margut, road climbing to the hermitage signposted from the village. Parking on site, individual visits free of charge, drinking water; diocesan house open to welcome visitors (03 24 22 67 31).

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

Ambient sound