Chapdes Beaufort is a commune of about 1000 residents in the Puy-de-Dome department in Auvergne in central France. The site goes back to the stone age and Gallo-Roman times. In 1219 brothers William and Raoul de Beaufort gave some of their land to the Carthusian Order. On the edge of the Sioule River, the Chartreuse du Port-Sainte-Marie was founded, fell into ruins during the French Revolution but now being restored. A galena mine was operated from 1838 by the Society Alphonese Pallu et Cie. This and other area mines ceased in 1898. 
Today the village has a series of modern sculptures made of local volcanic rock--the stone of Volvic. The sculptures are on a path named Chemin Fais Art. The site...More...Old Postcard
