Lac de Saint-Andéol
| Lac de Saint-Andéol | ||
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| Geographical location | Commune of Marchastel , Lozère department , Occitanie region , France | |
| Drain | → Ruisseau des Plèches → Bès → Truyère → Lot → Garonne → Atlantic | |
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| Coordinates | 44 ° 37 '7 " N , 3 ° 4' 54" E | |
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| length | 500 m | |
| Maximum depth | 10 m | |
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The Lac de Saint-Andéol is a small mountain lake in the area of the commune of Marchastel in the Lozère department in the west of the Occitanie region of southern France .
location
The Lac de Saint-Andéol , which was formed on the Aubrac plateau at the end of the last Ice Age, is located in the south of the municipality of Marchastel - partially surrounded by a marshland at an altitude of 1200 m. Within a radius of less than five kilometers are three other, but each somewhat smaller, mountain lakes ( Lac de Born , Lac de Salhiens , Lac de Souverols ).
history
Already in Celtic and ancient times there was a cult site on the lake shore . Gregory von Tours (539–594) reports that a long time ago around 4,000 to 5,000 people from the region gathered here every year on the second Sunday in July, ate and bathed and made sacrifices to the sea deity. During excavations in the 1950s, some cult images ( ex-votos ) and the remains of a temple were found. It was not until the Christian missionaries of Gévaudan (e.g. St. Andeolus and Hilary of Mende ) tried to put an end to the pagan activity by destroying the old places of worship or even having a chapel built. Nevertheless, the pagan traditions continued to exist in a softened form in Christian times - the last report on such a meeting dates from 1867.
Legend
In the 19th century, the existence of the lake was justified with a punishment from God for the inhospitability of the inhabitants of a village that used to exist at this point.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ estimated according to the fold-out OpenStreetMap map