Chilhac - Small town of character

Chilhac is an old town once surrounded by ramparts (from the XNUMXth century) which was built on the last lava flow of the Devès chain in Auvergne. Overlooking the Allier river, this village has nevertheless kept some of the witnesses of history, such as the Romanesque church, its towers and the entrance porches of the old castle. More surprisingly, it benefits from a Mediterranean microclimate which once allowed it to cultivate vines.

Chilhac is also renowned for its many basaltic columns, called "Organs", sculpted by its ancient and intense volcanic activity. As it cooled, the lava flows formed these imposing columns characteristic of this village in Haute-Loire.

Land of paleontology

The village of Chilhac is one of the major paleontological sites in Haute-Loire.

As early as 1875, bones were found. From 1968, major excavations were carried out at the instigation of Christian Guth and made it possible to update the fossil remains of saber-toothed tigers, mastodons, mammoths, rhinos, gazelles, bears, beavers, but also “modified pebbles” proof of the presence of hominids.

Le Christian Guth museum of paleontology exhibits all the fossil remains of the fauna that lived in Chilhac 2 million years ago.

Chilhac – Small city of character

43380 Chilhac

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