The star above Moustiers

This extraordinary village lay at the end of today's walk. As we arrived along the track from the woods we were dazzled by a light seemingly hanging in the sky above us; the reality turned out to be even stranger than any explanation we could come up with.

According to Frédéric Mistral, the star is an ex-voto dedicated to St. Mary. The knight Blacas decided to hang a star there as a homage to the Virgin on his return from the Crusades.


Other versions talk about love stories, the Three Kings or Chivalry... Although many versions exist about the origin of the star none have been verified to date. The mystery remains total on the origin and meaning of the star above Moustiers… The size of the star we see today dates from 1957. It is the eleventh to hang above the mountain road. In 1995 it was covered in gold leaf before returning to its vigil over the village. The size of the star, which originally had five points has changed over time from 1.80 to 30 cm. Today, the chain is 135 m long, weighs 150kg and the star covered in gold leaf measures 1.25 m.

So there you have it - I borrowed the above from the tourist office site.