A fantastic museum, hiking trails that maintain the mystery, a cottage that bears its name well, or even monumental wooden sculptures made with passion by the indefatigable Jean-Pierre Coniasse. In Saugues, everything or almost, maintains the history of the famous beast of Gévaudan...
In Saugues, the shadow of the Beast of Gévaudan hovers over all paths
The secrets of Jean-Pierre Coniasse, the sculptor of saugain beasts
Thanks to him, the beast of Gevaudan comes back to life. For more than 25 years, Jean-Pierre Coniasse has maintained the legend. Armed with his chainsaws, the now famous sculptor from Saugues, one of a kind, has just finished his latest beast. It will be installed in place of the old one: on the belvedere of the D 589, overlooking the village.
The silhouette is massive, impressive: “10,50 m instead of 6,50 m for the old one! ". The teeth are sharp, the eyes are black, bulging. The least we can say is that the new beast has everything of a ferocious animal. Bloodthirsty. Even the wood in which Jean-Pierre Coniasse carved it, seems not to have been chosen at random. “Sequoia is a wood with a red heart,” he explains. As if the beast had drawn blood on its coat...
However, redwood wood has an advantage: its life expectancy. Sequoia rots much less quickly. "20 years instead of 10 for the fir tree for example..." he specifies. This one, it is therefore not me who will replace her! »
It is indeed the third beast that Jean-Pierre Coniasse sculpts for the city. The first dominated Saugues from 1995 to 2008. The second from 2008 to today. The last, and not the least, weighing 15 tons, has just been born from the blows of a chainsaw, of which he alone has the secret...
He has been working on this new project commissioned by the municipality for three months. And this, for the greatest pleasure of hikers on the way to Santiago de Compostela, passing tourists or even photographers, many of whom immortalize his works on their journey through the Margeride.
Because indeed, the beast is not his only muse…
“I sculpted around ten works for Saugues. They are appreciated by walkers, photographers and it always does a bit of advertising for the village”. Scattered on the way to Saint-Jacques, on the outskirts or in the town center… all have one thing in common. “They evoke the Saugain heritage”.
A clog, a washerwoman, a bench, Saint-François-Régis, the Virgin and Child, a symbolic chestnut tree...
Continuing to bring traditions, legends and myths to life… Jean-Pierre Coniasse has been sculpting wood for 25 years, tirelessly, that is basically what drives him. Proud too, to give a face to this beast which 200 years after its crimes, still remains, and will forever remain a mystery...
Get scared at the Fantastic Beast of Gévaudan Museum
Listen carefully, listen to the story of the Beast of Gévaudan
Who hasn't liked being scared? And for that, what could be more effective than to immerse yourself in the history of the Beast of Gévaudan which from 1764 to 1767 killed and devoured more than 100 people... This is what the Fantastic Museum of the Beast of Saugues offers. Finding it couldn't be simpler! Just follow the monster's footprints in the heart of town. It is there, in a narrow lane, facing the imposing Tour of the English where is the lair of the beast...
A course on four floors, rich in 22 sketches in plaster, sculpted by hand by Blandine Gires, the caretaker and her father, Lucien Gires, who died in 2002. A museum, which, thanks to its maze of dark corridors, its sounds and lights, plunges visitors back into a terrifying hunt. That of the Beast of Gévaudan, as if you were there! Chills guaranteed.
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Walk in the footsteps of the beast on a mysterious hike
There are many paths that cross the Margeride in the footsteps of the beast...
Wild trails between moors and heather, topped with granite ridges where the view embraces Gévaudan. There, for 3 years, in the middle of the 18th century, an indefinable creature lurked that took the lives of a hundred women and children. An animal far more ferocious than an ordinary wolf...
On the PR 672 et 642 from the Domaine du Sauvage, or on the GR 65 across the Margeride, the terror of the beast is still palpable… Do you dare to walk off the beaten track?
There are even mountain bike trails!
A well-deserved rest at the Domaine du Sauvage in Chanaleilles
During their journey, exhausted walkers can always enjoy a good meal at the inn and a night's respite in one of the two lodgings of the Domaine du Sauvage. The latter bear the sweet names of flowers on the plateau: the “Jonquille” gîte with 21 places and the “Narcisse” gîte with 20 places.
"And better to book in advance!" » advises Eliane Chausse, an employee at the Domaine du Sauvage since 1979. Because in summer, « there is not enough room for everyone! ".
From April 1 and until November 1, in addition to theWild Inn and its over a hundred seats, the Terroir en Gévaudan shop, opens its doors to visitors and offers farm products, to the delight of walkers and people passing through. The opportunity to taste the local know-how: charcuterie, cheese, yoghurt, honey, ice cream, aperitifs and other jams made by the thirty farmers who have joined forces to manage the Sauvage site. Something to delight everyone's taste buds!
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