The Romanesque chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Notre Dame de Nize, is a building with a distinctive character comprising a chapel, bell tower, hermitage, esplanade and the ‘Fontaine des Yeux’ spring, renowned for centuries for curing or alleviating eye ailments.
Situated within the Haut Languedoc Regional Nature Park and beside a stream, this site, nestled at the bottom of the valley, is much loved for its tranquillity, cool atmosphere and the charm of the surrounding countryside.
Open all year round, guided tours, wine tastings, communal meals and concerts are organised here in fine weather.
The site has been listed on the supplementary register of historic monuments since 2001 and was awarded the ‘Vignobles et Découvertes’ label in 2024.
The Fontaine des Yeux
Not far from there, 500 metres downstream from the chapel and accessible via a small footpath, lies the Fontaine des Yeux, reputed to cure or alleviate eye ailments.
The Fontaine des Yeux has become a renowned place of pilgrimage.
Tradition dictates that one should rub one’s eyes with a handkerchief dipped in the fountain’s water and then hang it up there, leaving the ailment behind.
It is difficult to pinpoint the origin of this tradition, but it is likely that Christian worship replaced a pagan cult that already existed in Celtic times.
Recent water analyses carried out by the Pierre Fabre laboratory in Avène have failed to demonstrate the healing properties of this so-called ‘miraculous’ water.
However, a pastoral visit in 1636 tells us that the faithful used to come here to be cured of scabies, skin sores and headaches.
The Chapel of Notre-Dame-De-Nize
Route de Nize
34650 Lunas-les-Châteaux
Tel.: 06 72 99 89 90
https://www.notredamedenize.fr/page/2053284-decouvrir
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
