Mount Brouilly, Mountain in Beaujolais, Rhône, France
Mount Brouilly is a rounded summit in the Beaujolais region, reaching 484 metres and shared between the communes of Odenas and Saint-Lager. Its wooded top is crowned by the Notre-Dame aux Raisins chapel, while the lower slopes form a patchwork of small fields and vineyards. The mountain is largely made of diorite, a hard rock that takes on a bluish sheen when weathered, known locally as "Pierre bleue des Brouilly".
The chapel Notre-Dame aux Raisins was built after hail, frost and mildew ravaged the vineyard between 1850 and 1852. Its first stone was laid in 1854 and it was inaugurated in 1857. The altar bears the inscription "À Marie contre l'oïdium" and the facade "À Marie protectrice du Beaujolais".
The name Brouilly is said to come from Brulius, a lieutenant in Caesar's Roman army who settled in the area. The chapel's altar bears the inscription "À Marie contre l'oïdium" and its facade "À Marie protectrice du Beaujolais", referring to the mildew that ruined the vines in 1850–1852. A pilgrimage is held every 8 September.
The summit, shared between Odenas and Saint-Lager, is reached by roads and paths climbing through the vineyards of the Côte-de-Brouilly. From the top the view opens over the Saône valley, Bresse and Dombes. The chapel of Notre-Dame aux Raisins draws a pilgrimage every 8 September, and the climb is a regular feature of the Paris-Nice cycle race.
The hard metamorphic rock of the hill, a diorite altered by contact metamorphism, takes on bluish tints when weathered and is known locally as "Pierre bleue des Brouilly". The hill is also a setting in Lucien Rebatet's novel Les Deux Étendards.
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