Gouffre de Padirac

Occitanie · Frankrike · Natural site

The 75-metre chasm was known as the Devil's doorway – struck open by Satan's heel in a wager with Saint Martin.

The gigantic sinkhole of Padirac in Quercy, plunging 75 metres straight into the limestone, was for centuries viewed with such dread that locals called it the Devil's hole. Legend tells that Saint Martin met the Devil, homeward bound with a sack of freshly caught souls; Satan struck his heel into the ground, splitting open the abyss, and challenged the saint to leap it on his mule. The mule made the jump, the souls were saved, and the furious Devil plunged down his hole towards the underworld. Not until 1889 did the explorer Édouard-Alfred Martel dare descend into the depths, where an underground river still winds through what folk belief long held to be the forecourt of Hell.

FAQ

Hvor ligger Gouffre de Padirac?

Gouffre de Padirac ligger i Occitanie, Frankrike.