Abbaye de Gellone et Pont du Diable

Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert

William, Count of Toulouse and companion of Charlemagne, withdrew to the deserted valley of Gellone, where he founded a monastery shortly before 804; he died there around 812 and was buried on the spot, hence the village's name. Charlemagne is said to have given him, around 804, a fragment of the True Cross, a relic that drew the crowds and made Gellone a major stage on the Way of St James, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1998. The Romanesque abbey church, its apse with Lombard arcading and its cloister — some of whose capitals are now at the Cloisters museum in New York — preside over a village hemmed in at the mouth of the Cirque de l'Infernet, literally "the little hell". Passing into the chansons de geste under the name of William of Orange, the saint becomes there a hero who fights Saracen giants, and local memory still points out the "Giant's Castle" above the rooftops. The most enduring legend concerns the bridge that crosses the gorges of the Hérault downstream: the Devil, the stories say, destroyed every night the work that the monks of Gellone and Aniane were trying to build. Guilhem struck a bargain with him — an indestructible bridge in three days, in exchange for the soul of the first being to cross it. Once the work was finished, no one dared venture onto it, until Guilhem threw a bone onto the far bank and his dog bounded across. Outwitted, the Devil tried to bring down his own bridge but could make no dent in a work he had built too solidly, and hurled himself into the chasm that has ever since borne the name of the "gouffre noir", the black chasm.

Office de tourisme Saint-Guilhem — La légende du pont du Diable ↗

Getting there : Village of Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, 45 minutes from Montpellier by the D27; the abbey church is in the centre of the village, on the Place de la Liberté, free admission. The Pont du Diable lies downstream, between Aniane and Saint-Jean-de-Fos, on the D27: large paying car park at the Maison du Grand Site, shuttle bus in summer, very popular bathing spot in the gorges. The village is pedestrianised in high season; park in the car parks at the entrance.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound