The 140 cellars of Saint-Julien website

A real Hobbit village ! These 140 holes dug in an ancient ash flow from the Sancy volcano, which arrived here a million years ago, offer a bewildering and very pretty sight : the entrances to these semi-circular cellars are all built of stone.
The oldest known cellar dates back to 1791,(…)

A real Hobbit village ! These 140 holes dug in an ancient ash flow from the Sancy volcano, which arrived here a million years ago, offer a bewildering and very pretty sight : the entrances to these semi-circular cellars are all built of stone.
The oldest known cellar dates back to 1791, but most were dug at the end of the 19th century to cope with the boom in Auvergne’s vineyards, which were then in their heyday. Vines were growing everywhere between Montaigut and Champeix. In Montaigut, vines spread along the sides of the village, sometimes even between the houses !
This prosperity came to an abrupt halt in the early 20th century when the vines were hit by phylloxera. Then came the First World War, followed by the rural exodus to Paris : the vineyards of Auvergne never recovered. The cellars of Saint-Julien, no longer needed, were almost all abandoned. A few were eventually converted to Saint-Nectaire cheese maturing. One was even used as a hideout by a Resistance fighter, who concealed twenty tons of weapons, ammunition and radio sets for London. Denounced, he was deported and never returned. The heritage association owns several of these, which it has restored. So has the Conservatoire des Espaces Naturels, with a view to protecting the current occupants of the site : the bats ! which remain very discreet…
Today, these 140 caves in the middle of greenery offer walkers a truly unusual stroll ! But be warned, they are private : the site can only be discovered from the Chemin des caves and the cul-de-sacs leading off from it.