Saint Guilhem le Désert

In 804, Guilhem, Count of Toulouse and Duke of the Aquitaine, founded an abbey in an isolated part of the Hérault valley. The “desert” reflected the site being so distant from any other human presence. Guilhem was canonised in 1066, and the abbey became the “abbaye de Saint-Guilhem”. With the acquisition of a holy relic (a piece of the true cross), the abbey became an important pilgrimage site and a small town developed.