——————————— Great Lifting Stone of Bretelliere ———————————

With its 6,20 m off the ground, the Grande Pierre Levée de la Bretellière (Great Lifting Stone of Bretelliere) is the highest menhir in the department of Maine-et-Loire2. Fusiform, its base perimeter measures 7.70 m. It is made of granite called “Aubiers” of which a deposit exists 600 m north.

The menhir has, in the lower part, on the east, north and west face, engravings representing crosses and blazons, “linked to a Christianisation of the monument”, visible only in low-level lighting. In the year 2000, P. Raux discovers, over the entire height of the north face, “a large vertical zig-zag engraved in the upper part of the right half of this face, over a length of 3.65 m” , reaching a developed length of 5.50 m3, interpreted as a serpentine sign.

According to local legend, “a fairy who asked a young man in marriage was given the condition to carry this stone before midnight on the other side of the valley; she failed and the stone remained planted where she abandoned it “.