Florac: a spring in the town

The covered passage of the sub-prefecture is one of several in Florac, running beneath the houses. You have just gone through the former town wall and now find yourself inside the medieval town. Besides the beautiful ancient plane trees (the oldest are 200 years old), you can see, at one end, the statue of Léon Boyer, who built the Garabit viaduct with Gustave Eiffel and died in 1883 in Panama, where he was working on the construction of the Canal; and at the other end, the temple (Protestant church) and the War Memorial.

This river has been used as the drinking-water supply for the town’s many fountains, to irrigate its gardens, power up to eight water mills and provide water for a fish farm. In the old days, it was also used for public wash-houses, tanneries and as a drain for waste water.

Florac castle was rebuilt in 1652, after the religious wars, and now stands on the spot of the former feudal castle, mentioned in records dating back to the early 13th century. During the French Revolution, the castle was turned into a salt loft for storing salt. Sold to the French State in 1810, it was used as a prison. It still retains some features of that period. Since 1976, the castle has been the seat of the Cévennes National Park.

Originally built to house a hospital, this building became a Capuchin convent in the 17th century. Subsequently transformed back in to a hospital, it has since also been the seat of the sub-prefecture and a religious institution. It is known as the “house of the Congregation” and is today used as a private school. We have to picture it in the late 17th century, when this district was densely populated, teemed with life and saw much economic activity: textile craftsmen, leather craftsmen, mule drivers, carters and innkeepers, who made their living from the merchants and goods passing through.

Rue Armand Jullié used to be Florac’s trading street and would have been lined with workshops with typical shop fronts. Mule drivers once used this road to carry their goods from the Auvergne down to the Midi, before they were replaced by cart drivers and finally wagoners. More than twenty wagoners would stop off in Florac at the turn of the 20th century. They would rest here and, before resuming their journey, would take on additional horses to help climb the steep hills that awaited them on the road ahead.

In the 16th and17th centuries, a large number of religious conflicts between Catholics and Protestants affected the Cévennes, bringing with them much destruction. After the Peace of Alais was signed by Richelieu and the Duke of Rohan in June 1629, Protestants retained the right to practise their religion, but their fortifications were razed. This included Florac's town walls. The house bearing this information panel is one of the town's oldest: its tower used to watch over Thérond Gate. It also stands at the crossroads of the former road linking Nîmes with Saint-Flour and the former road from Florac to Séverac via the Causse plateau.