Saoû

Saou was built around its medieval castle and the Abbey of Saint-Thiers. This historic town, linked to the Wars of Religion and a martyr village of 1944, is today known for its artisans and its privileged access to the exceptional Saou Forest.

Before getting down again aside the Vèbre river (from the latin fiber: beaver) and around the Saint Tiers abbey, Saoû village (from the Celt Saô: valley crossed by water) was perched around the Roc, the huge emblematic rock which overlooks it at 501 meters of altitude. A castle, ancient medieval castrum, topped it until the year 1322. It was destroyed by Louis XIII in 1622 because said fief of the “Huguenots” and “unpreignable”. Today, only a few beautiful and solid houses and parts of walls (ancient ramparts) or of lanes (ancient calades) like the one of which 120 steps, cut in the limestone, gave access to the castle, remain.