Location: Square Hyacinthe Lorette, 26 Rue de la Monnaie, 35000 Rennes, France
Mythical Creatures
by @anton
According to local tradition, the marshes that bordered the western walls of Rennes, near the present-day confluence of the Ille and Vilaine rivers, were haunted in the thirteenth century by a gigantic toad that devoured any unfortunate inhabitants who lost their way.
During the reign of Louis IX, a cross was erected to drive the creature away and make it possible to drain the marshes. Over the centuries, whenever the cross disappeared, the people of Rennes raised a new one on the same spot. Today, this tradition lives on in the Cross of the Mission (Croix de la Mission).
Sources : Joly Julien, Histoires Extraordinaires Rennaises, Le Mensuel de Rennes, 2020