Mont Mimat, Summit in Mende, France

Mont Mimat is a forested summit above Mende, in Lozère, covered largely by the Mende forest managed by the Office national des forêts. Its causse was replanted at the start of the 20th century with Austrian black pine. At the top, a cleared area holds a 30-metre TDF lattice mast and, further along the ridge, a building with a steep dark roof.

Aldebert III du Tournel, bishop of Mende, built or reinforced the fortress of Chapieu on the southern slope of Mont Mimat. It guarded the road linking Mende to the voie Régordane. The Tournel family later left Chapieu for the château du Boy in the Valdonnez, and the nearby farm of Chapieu now stands abandoned.

Saint Privat, a third-century martyr, is said to have lived as a hermit in caves he arranged above Mende before being killed at the foot of the mountain by barbarians under Chrocus. Several hermits settled here over the centuries, and the site long drew pilgrims who helped Mende prosper as an episcopal seat and capital of Gévaudan. In 1873 the grotto of Calvary was pierced and the stations of the cross leading to it were built.

Two paved roads lead to the summit: one from the Lot Valley via Cote de la Croix Neuve and another from Valdonnez valley through Langlade village. Either route offers straightforward access from Mende's main parking areas.

An illuminated iron cross was installed in 1933, replacing the original from 1900. The cross glows at night and serves as a recognizable landmark visible across the entire Mende basin.