Lavaudieu

Lavaudieu
The medieval village, the old bridge on the Senouire River and the St. André abbey.
Coat of arms
Lavaudieu
Location within Auvergne region Lavaudieu
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Haute-Loire
Arrondissement	Brioude
Canton	Brioude-Sud
Government
• Mayor (2001–2008)	Marie-Andrée Perrey
Area1	17.54 km2 (6.77 sq mi)
Population (1999)2	225
• Density	13/km2 (33/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	43117 / 43100
Elevation	438–727 m (1,437–2,385 ft) (avg. 550 m or 1,800 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Lavaudieu is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France. Buildings include the Romanesque Lavaudieu Abbey, otherwise Lavaudieu Priory (Abbaye Saint-André de Lavaudieu), built by St Robert, the first abbot of La Chaise-Dieu, in the 11th century, which was at first a Benedictine priory, and later a house of secular canonesses from the Auvergnat nobility. It was raised to the status of abbey in 1719.

Geography

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

See also

• Communes of the Haute-Loire department