Located in the heart of the Haut-Languedoc Regional Nature Park, the cave is nicknamed the “Palace of the Glass Blower” for the beauty and delicacy of its varied formations, with water having sculpted a profusion of shapes: stalactites, stalagmites, and aragonite flowers.
The cave’s entrance was discovered during construction of the Mazamet-Bédarieux railway line in 1886–1887. The natural entrance to the cavern is a circular opening located in the northeast corner of the station yard, a sort of upward-sloping chimney carved into the rock seven meters above the ground.
According to E. Martel in *Les Abîmes*, miners and laborers had already traversed it and ransacked the concretions when, on January 9, 1893, Messrs. Bourguet, Armand, and the guide Martel explored it in turn. The former drew up the plan and cross-section in a single evening, which were published in the same work. This work, carried out very quickly, bears only a distant resemblance to reality.
Exploration resumed many years later, in 1928–1929, by Mr. Milhaud and his team. In 1930, they discovered the upper chambers of the cave and the “Salle des Bijoux.” Numerous side passages and the lower network were also explored.
The most richly decorated part of the cave was developed in 1932–1933 by the Spéléo-Cub de la Montagne Noire et de l’Espinouse, an organization bringing together cavers from the entire Mazamet and Saint-Ponce region.
The chambers that are currently the first to be visited were developed later and opened to the public in 1939 in the presence of the eminent French speleologist Norbert Casteret.
This development allows for a complete tour of the cave and the opportunity to discover the richness and diversity of the stalactite formations, with the G. Milhaud Chamber undoubtedly being the most beautiful in the cave.
The tour of the Grotte de la Devèze, lasting an average of 1 hour, consists of seven chambers and is divided into two parts:
The first part, from 0 to –30 meters, allows visitors to explore five dark-colored chambers featuring various formations (draperies, fistulose formations, aragonite, etc.)
Access to the second part is via a staircase about 50 meters high (a few rest stops are provided, but good physical condition is recommended).
The two upper chambers are whiter than the first ones and feature some formations not seen previously (eccentric formations, discs, etc.).
At the cave’s exit, the Underground World Discovery Center and its 3D theater round out the visit.
Annual closure: December through February.
Deveze Cave, La Fileuse de Verre.
Avenue Georges Milhaud
34220 Courniou
Tel.: 04 67 97 03 24
Translated with DeepL.com
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