The name Moustiers derives from the word for monastery. In the 5th century, monks from the Lerins Islands settled in the caves and erected a shrine devoted to Mary. Later, this village, built in the form of an amphitheatre, enjoyed a boom through its industries such as leather tanning, paper making, pottery and, of course, milling thanks to the abundant water sources found all around.
Moustiers, classed amongst the most beautiful villages in France, is today famous for having preserved its ancestral know-how, especially in its faience, the porcelains and crockery renowned worldwide...
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Moustiers is also known for its shining star seen between the rocks overhanging the village. The legend (also told by the poet Fréderic Mistral) recounts that a knight from Blacas, a prisoner of the Saracens during one of the Crusades, made a vow that if he returned to his homeland, he would hang a chain supporting a star.
By 1565, nobody knew anymore who had placed it there, although there was no doubt that it was an ex-voto. Exposed to the four winds, it is replaced, about twice a century, each time after falling.
The size of the star, originally with five points, has varied over time from 30cm to 1.80m. Today, the 135m chain weighs 150kg and the gilded star measures 1.25m.
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