Lavaudieu () is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France. It is a member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France (The Most Beautiful Villages of France) Association.

Geography

The village lies on the right bank of the Senouire, which flows west through the commune.

Population

Sights

• Romanesque Lavaudieu Abbey, long known as Lavaudieu Priory (Abbaye Saint-André de Lavaudieu), was established by Robert de Turlande, the first abbot of the nearby Abbey of La Chaise-Dieu, in the 11th century. It was founded as a Benedictine community of nuns but later became a house of secular canonesses (i.e., pious women living in community but not taking religious vows) from the Auvergnat nobility. It was raised to the status of abbey in 1719.

See also

• Communes of the Haute-Loire department

References