Ermitage Notre-Dame de Mièges

Mièges

A statuette of the Virgin, found near a spring, returns every night to the same place: this is the legend of Notre-Dame de Mièges. A knight is said to have discovered it in the Middle Ages, brought it back to the church, then found it again further away, where he had an oratory built. The written history is more sober: the oratory became a priory, attached to Cluny in 1083 according to a site of the Catholic Church in the Jura. In the early 17th century, Jean Masson, of Nozeroy, built a hermitage and a chapel there, and a hermit settled there in 1613. The first hermit-priest, François Carlier, is said to have brought back from the Hainaut a wooden Virgin of Montaigu, according to Father Pierre Lacroix. The troops of the duke of Saxe-Weimar damaged the place during the Thirty Years' War. Sold as national property in 1795, the hermitage returned to worship in 1823. The statue was crowned on 20 June 1937. The chapel walls are covered with ex-votos, including a plaque of thanks after the 1964 disaster at Champagnole. A pilgrimage is held there every Whit Monday.

Jura Tourisme — Ermitage Notre-Dame de Mièges ↗

Getting there: Route de l'Ermitage, 39250 Mièges, with parking on site. The chapel is freely accessible and free of charge, every day from 8 am to 5 pm according to the Jura tourist office. A permanent deacon and his wife live at the hermitage and welcome visitors. Pilgrimage on Whit Monday.

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

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