Le Caylar (; oc, Lo Cailar), also known as ''Le Caylar-en-Larzac'', is a commune in the Hérault

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in southern France, in the administrative region of

Occitanie Occitanie may refer to: *Occitania, a region in southern France called ''Occitanie'' in French *Occitania (administrative region) Occitania ( ; french: Occitanie ; oc, Occitània ; ca, Occitània ) is the southernmost administrative region of ...

. It has the

Village étape A Village étape (France) or a Village relais (Québec) is a small town, typically under five thousand people, designated to provide a complete set of services for national or provincial highway travellers. While most do provide natural or cultural ...

label since 2013.

Geography

Le Caylar is situated 71 km from

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

and 18 km from Lodève. The village is situated on the limestone karst plateau of Larzac. The climate is very dry there, cold in winter and rather hot in summer. The rocks consist of limestones: calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) or dolomite: double carbonate of calcium and magnesium (CaMg (CO₃)₂). The first gives very lapiazed reliefs. The second is less soluble than the first, resulting in irregular reliefs.Gérard Mottet, ''Géographie physique de la France'', ''Presses universitaires de France'', 1999, p. 223.

Toponymy

''Le'' is a French definite article equivalent to ''the'' in English. ''Caylar'' is an old meridional word meaning ''castle''. Therefore, ''Le Caylar'' means ''The Castle''. The long form of the commune, ''Le-Caylar-en-Larzac'', means ''The castle in Larzac'', Larzac being the name of the plateau the commune is situated on.

History

The first traces of occupation of the site date back to the Iron Age. Carolingian houses (before the 10th century) can still be seen in the village. The Roc Castel, which overlooks the village of Caylar, constitutes the remains of the Castellas (castle) originally built in the 12th century. The ''Notre-Dame du Roc Castel'' chapel, still housed there, also dates from the 12th century. File:Le Caylar au debut 19eme.jpg, Town in the beginning of the 20th. File:La place du Caylar.jpg, Town in the beginning of the 20th. File:Le Caylar, Camp lauriet.JPG, The camp Lauriet in the beginning of the 20th. File:Le Caylar la place et le calvaire - Archives départementales de l’Hérault - FRAD034-2FICP-05586-00001.jpg, Postal card of the place and the

calvary Calvary ( la, Calvariae or ) or Golgotha ( grc-gre, Γολγοθᾶ, ''Golgothâ'') was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where Jesus was said to have been crucified according to the canonical Gospels. Since at least the early mediev ...

(end 19th - early 20th).

Population

Monuments

* Notre-Dame Chapel. Wood retable from the 14th century. * The Sculpted Tree (''Arbre sculpté'' in French). * Roc Castel. This rock dominates the village (altitude 752 meters), offering a valuable panorama on the Larzac. Le Caylar ,vue du château.jpg, View of the castle. Le Caylar.jpg, The Sculpted Tree. Le Caylar, détail de l'arbre sculpté.jpg, Detail of the sculpted tree. Le Caylar-aire A75.JPG, The Roc Castel viewed from the A75. Vue du roc castel au Caylar.jpg, View from the roc castel on the Larzac.

References