Layers of green-blue mountains stretch across the horizon, then slope onto the rocky garrigue. Wild thyme, mint, and fig fill the air with an earthy perfume. Ancient limestone houses, topped with rounded terracotta tiles, cluster in town centers around trickling water fountains.
Hot weather brings the chant de l’été, the cicadas’ serenade, the soundtrack of summer. In all seasons, lightning and thunderstorms blow through with such ferocity that they’ve earned the name épisode Cévenol.
Welcome to the Cévennes in south-central France. A region of rugged beauty, marked by the resilience of Huguenot resistance.
We’ll start in Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort, where I live and work in the 500+ year-old château de Planque. Not the fancy, fairytale sort, but a solid, chunky structure that has housed a knight of the king and a noble family with eight children, among others.
As is common in the Cévennes, the property behind our home is terraced with rock walls creating agricultural space and providing structural support to the hilly terrain. The amount of labor needed to construct these dry stack walls boggles the mind. Built centuries ago, they (mostly) hold firm today.
Huguenot history permeates the Cévennes. French Protestantism took deep root in this rocky soil, most likely appealing to the hearty individualism of the Cévenol people. King Louis XIV eroded Huguenot rights, increased persecution, and forced conversions. Eventually, he outlawed Protestantism, forcing the church to meet secretly in caves. If discovered by the authorities, the pastor faced death by public torture. The men condemned to row in the Marseille galley boats, women imprisoned, and children sent to convents for reeducation.
Across the Cévennes, resistance grew until the harassed Huguenots took up arms. Almost every nook and cranny of the region has an impressive story to tell of the stubbornly faithful holding off the king’s soldiers during the Camisard War.
Most large farmhouses in the region have cachettes, hiding places under the kitchen floorboards. Some have escape tunnels as well.
The largest Protestant museum in France is in Mialet, in the former home of a Camisard resistance leader. The Musée du Désert houses over three thousand artifacts, such as Bibles tiny enough to hide in a woman’s chignon. I highly recommend this moving experience.
For general Cévennes history, the Maison Rouge, in Saint-John-du-Gard, provides a wealth of information. Permanent collections cover ethnographic and historic artifacts. I particularly enjoyed explanations of popular traditions of the 17th – 19th century Cévennes.
One of my favorite items there is a pair of shoes with six-inch spikes, used in the past for shelling dried chestnuts. Chestnut trees abound throughout the region. In earlier times, ground or boiled chestnuts were a staple of the Cévenols diet. The tree earned the name l’arbre du pain,or breadfruit tree, and is credited with helping the population survive difficult times. In 2020, the Cévennes chestnut earned the coveted AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) label, distinguishing it from all others.
Another regional product protected by an AOP (the European equivalent of the AOC) is the Cévennes onion. Sweet and crunchy, and grown only on the steep stone terraces of the Cévennes mountains. No tears, no bitterness! We love them chopped raw in salads or sauteed in white wine as a side.
If you’re a fan of goat cheese, the local, round pélardon is a must. Less pungent than other types, it ranges from young and creamy to aged, dried, and slightly hard. Not to be missed is the Salade Cévenole, which includes lettuce, sauteed lardons (bits of bacon) or other smoked meat, Cévennes onions, and a slightly melted pélardon on grilled bread. Other ingredients appear depending on which corner of the region you find yourself.
Open markets exist in every town and village throughout the Cévennes. Whether tiny or grand, they carry beautiful arrays of seasonal produce, flowers, olives, cheeses, breads, honey, and much more. Many also have household items and clothes. All are a feast for the senses.
In July and August, many towns host night markets. For example, charming Anduze transforms on Tuesday nights during the summer into a bustling hive of activity. If flea markets are your thing, Anduze has a great one Sunday mornings year-round.
Anduze’s pottery is famous, especially the grand “vases” thought to be ordered by King Louis XIV for Versailles. They remain in demand, and it’s not hard to see why.
We have plentiful wines here in the Cévennes. Reds, Whites, and Rosés all reflect the notes of the terroir and the wide diversity of the region. One of our favorite wineries is the Domaine de la Grand’Terre here in Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort. We’ve participated in their vendange, the fall grape harvest. What a joy to spend the morning clipping juicy purple-red grapes clinging to vines dating back to the current owner’s grandfather. Later, in a blind wine tasting, I picked as my favorite the very wine made from these grapes. Surely, the scent and taste brought back lovely memories.
The Cévennes once served as a major center of silk manufacturing, peaking in the 19th century. If this interests you, check out the Musée de la Soie, the Silk Museum, in Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort. Small but fascinating, it details the entire process from cocoon to fabric.
There is so much to discover in our surprising Cévennes. Caves to explore, such as the fabulous Grotte des Demoiselles, the steam train circuit starting and ending in Anduze, plus the spectacular Bambouseraie botanical garden in Générargues.
Enjoy a hike along a riverbed or into the rugged Cévennes mountains. Natural beauty abounds, refreshing body and soul.
California-born Janet Joanou Weiner has lived in France for over twenty years where she writes historical novels The Huguenot Resistance Series, which take place in her village Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort and home, the over 500-year-old Château de Planque.
