I heard this on the radio a few weeks ago and couldn’t resist passing it on to you. It’s a “feel good” story for a time when there is not a lot to feel good about.
Fifty years ago, the residents of a small village in the south of France were evicted in advance of a plan to build a dam in the nearby Salagou River.. Like the creation of the Quabbin Reservoir in western Massachusetts that drowned four towns, the centuries-old town of Celles was doomed to disappear under the future Lake Salagou.
In the early morning hours, government officials knocked on doors, ordering people to abandon their homes, many of which had been occupied for five or six generations of the same family.
The dam was built and the waters rose. The new lake approached the shore of Celles. And then it stopped. Right at the edge of the town, never rising more. The village was saved, but the population gone. Celles became a ghost town. The buildings fell into ruin; only the Town Hall and the village church remained intact. It has been that way for the last fifty years. Until recently. Now people are starting to move back, many of them descendants of the former villagers. They are rebuilding the houses, repairing the roads, planting gardens.
“Thus far shall you come and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stopped”
The author of the Book of Job wrote those lines, imagining God’s words on the first day of Creation, when the seas ” burst out from God’s womb”. (Job 38: 8,11). Which leads me to ask, “Why did the lake water stop rising right at Celles’ waterfront?” Did God stop it? Was it a miracle, or was it something about the elevation of the land?
What about the parting of the waters at the exact moment that the Israelites, fleeing Egypt, arrived at the shore of the Red Sea? Surely that was a miracle, wasn’t it? Or was it Moses’ amazing powers? Or an anomaly of the tides?
Each of us will probably have our own answer to those questions. As a person of faith, I see no difference between the Biblical examples and the salvation of Celles. Whether one calls them miracles or something else is not, I believe, the point. Instead, I take them to be unusually spectacular events which indicate that sometimes things turn out just right, more than hoped for, timed to perfection.
The story of Celles is a narrative of grace, an opportunity for gratitude and hope, an example of resurrection. Thank God that things like that are still happening.
It appears that some human intervention was it work to effect this miracle, at least based on this translated article from Wikipedia:
“The village sits on the bank of [[Lac du Salagou]]. When the barrage that created the lake was built (1964–68), the intention was to raise the water level in two stages—first to 139m, then to 150m. The second stage would have engulfed the village of Celles, which is at a mean altitude of 144m, and accordingly the village and its vineyards were officially abandoned. The first stage of water level left the water lapping at the foot of the village without encroaching on any structures. The second stage was never implemented, so a few villagers re-occupied the ”Mairie”, repairing public buildings in order that the status of Celles as a commune would be preserved. However, the French authorities are allowing the village to decay and all buildings except the ”Mairie” and the church are in ruins. It is a popular place for fishing and picnics.
In 1990, the city council, hoping to “move” the department to revitalize the village, called on the general council, owner of the ruins, to secure them in the name of public safety. The expected result – the restoration of the houses – actually led to a crystallization action of the village, with a concreting of the ridges and laying fences around the houses. It was not until 1996 that the department took the official decision to permanently maintain the rating 139. From the beginning, some of the former inhabitants fought to maintain the status of commune in Celles, and regularly maintained and renovated communal buildings, not expropriable.
The ruined village has served as a backdrop for several [[feature film]] scenes, notably the 1985 thriller ”Zone Rouge” (Red Zone).”
very interesting dearest BB, in response to Polly’s biblical story about the Miracle in the village of the commune in Celles. You seem to be able to sweep away the cobwebs of its past & survey it restoration, But what does the rating “139” refer to????? OK Wize one, Spin me another cobweb. Much love now & always xxx VB
Automated translation was awkward, but 139 refers to the final lake elevation above sea level in meters, so no further flooding is planned. Apparently the reason for canceling the second stage had something to do with building an underground tunnel that was necessary to implement the second stage, and it was deemed infeasible for unspecified reasons.
very interesting dearest BB, in response to Polly’s biblical story about the Miracle in the village of the commune in Celles. You seem to be able to sweep away the cobwebs of its past & survey its restoration, But what does the rating “139” refer to????? OK Wize one, Spin me another cobweb. Much love now & always xxx VB
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