DID YOU KNOW?
HydreManche
The tidal currents of the Alderney Race, known in French as the Raz Blanchard, lie in the English Channel — la Manche in French. They were once said to be watched over by a hydra — or perhaps a serpent, or a dragon, depending on the version — known as Baligan, lurking in a cave. This double reference, to the hydra of the legend and to la Manche, is echoed in the name HydreManche®.
The entrance to this cave, reportedly destroyed during the construction of the Flamanville nuclear power station, is said to have stood only a short distance from today’s Flamanville EPR.
According to local legend, St Germain à la Rouelle crossed the English Channel aboard a strange wheel, coming from Ireland — or perhaps from Scotland, depending on the version — before reaching Normandy and slaying the famous Baligan with a single blow from his crozier.
Let us hope dragons do not hold grudges for too long…
Baligan Cave
Baligan Cave, at the foot of Cap de Flamanville, faced the powerful waters of the Alderney Race, known in French as the Raz Blanchard. According to local legend, these feared tidal currents were once watched over by a hydra — or perhaps a serpent, or a dragon, depending on the version — known as Baligan, lurking in a cave.
Extending deep into the cliff, it was said to run as far as beneath the village church.
As the sea surged into the cliff, it produced terrifying sounds.
These sounds of the sea gave rise to the legend of a dragon that terrorised the local population more than 1,500 years ago. Each week, a child was said to be sacrificed to satisfy its appetite. One day, in 448, Saint Germain à la Rouelle landed from Ireland near this cleft in the rock. He defeated the beast, a symbol of paganism, thereby leading the population to Christianity.
The monster was said to have remained petrified as a block of granite, veined with rust from iron ore, recalling the blood of the innocent children who had been sacrificed.
In the late twentieth century, the modern age of nuclear power finally silenced the dragon.
The entrance to Baligan Cave in the late 1970s
Source: WikiManche – “Trou Baligan” Categories: Geography of Manche, Normandy | Legend of Manche, Normandy