Bédarieux
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Bédarieux (; oc, Bedarius) is a town and
commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...
in the
Hérault Hérault (; oc, Erau, ) is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault River, its prefecture is Montpellier. It had a population of 1,175,623 in 2019.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 the
region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
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 ...
in southern
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. The town is surrounded by the Espinouse mountain and
Orb river Orb or Orbs may refer to: * Sphere * Globus Cruciger Ceremonial Orb Places and rivers * Orb (river), in southern France * Orb (Kinzig), a tributary of the Kinzig river in Germany * Bad Orb, a town in Hesse, Germany Literature, radio, film, ...
, and is in the
Haut-Languedoc Regional Nature Park A mouflon in the park. Haut-Languedoc Regional Nature Park (french: Parc naturel régional du Haut-Languedoc) is a regional natural park in the south of the Massif Central within the Aveyron, Hérault, and Tarn departments of France. These a ...
. The inhabitants are called ''Bédariciens''.


Geography

Bédarieux is west of
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 north of
Béziers Béziers (; oc, Besièrs) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Every August Béziers hos ...
. The commune is in the Orb valley, the river flowing north–south into Bédarieux and east–west downstream.


Climate

Bédarieux has a
mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
(
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''Csa''). The average annual temperature in Bédarieux is . The average annual rainfall is with October as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Bédarieux was on 12 August 2003; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 8 February 2012.


History

Archaeological digs conducted in the 'rues Basses' district during the 1910s found roman coins dating from the 4th century AD, suggesting the presence of a gallo-roman villa. The earliest mention of the town dates back to the 12th century. The Saint-Nazaire de Lodéran chapel (now disappeared) was mentioned in 1153. From the end of the 12th century, Bédarieux saw a rapid development of manufacturing activity. Its cloth-weaving industry, carried on under a special
royal privilege A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...
from the end of the 17th century to the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, employed in 1789 as many as 5,000 workmen, while some thousand more were employed in wool and cotton spinning, etc. Because of the introduction of modern machinery from England and loss of trade with the
Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...
, Bédarieux's industries declined. However, they somewhat revived in the late 19th century owing partly to the opening up of
Bauxite Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO(O ...
and
coal mines Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
in the neighbourhood. Bédarieux's first municipal council dates back to 1790. At around the same time the town became the cantonal capital. During the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, the citizens of the commune of Bédarieux formed a revolutionary club called 'Société des Amis de la Constitution' (the society of the friends of the constitution). It had 250 members. After Louis-Napoleon's coup d'état on 2 December 1851, Bédarieux's republicans managed to hold the town for a few hours. The press claimed that these insurgents had devoured the corpse of the
maréchal des logis () is a sub-officer rank used by some units of the French Armed Forces. It is traditionally a cavalry unit rank. There are three distinct ranks of ''maréchal des logis'', which are generally the equivalents of sergeant ranks (although they g ...
, Léotard, who had been fighting for
Napoléon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
. This claim appears to be untrue, but it seems that they may have urinated on his corpse and burnt his mustaches. The railway came to Bédarieux in the 1850s. A 710 metre-long
viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...
was constructed across the Orb valley, giving rail access to the coal mines at
Graissessac Graissessac (; oc, Graisseçac) is a commune in the southern French department of Hérault. Population See also *Communes of the Hérault department The following is a list of the 342 communes of the Hérault department of France. The ...
. The railway facilitated communications with
Béziers Béziers (; oc, Besièrs) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Every August Béziers hos ...
,
Sète Sète (; oc, Seta, ), also historically spelt ''Cette'' (official until 1928) and ''Sette'', is a commune in the Hérault department, in the region of Occitania, southern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Sétois'' (male) and ''Sétoises' ...
and
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
, benefiting Bédarieux's wool and leather trade. During the twentieth century Bédarieux was badly affected by the two world wars and industrial decline. In response, Bédarieux has focused on developing tourism and its cultural industries, as well as seeking to attract new enterprises. Recent improvements include a new sewage treatment plant, several enterprise zones and 'La Tuilerie' - a multipurpose community center that can host conferences, concerts, theatricals and exhibitions.


Population


Twin towns

Bédarieux is twinned with: * Leutkirch im Allgäu, Germany, since 1982 *
Medenine Medenine ( ar, مدنين ) is the major town in south-eastern Tunisia, south of the port of Gabès and the Island of Djerba, on the main route to Libya. It is the capital of Medenine Governorate. Overview In pre-colonial times, Medenine wa ...
, Tunisia, since 1999 *
Ouarzazate Ouarzazate (; ar, ورزازات, Warzāzāt, ; ary, وارزازات, Wārzāzāt; shi, label= Berber, ⵡⴰⵔⵣⴰⵣⴰⵜ, Warzazat), nicknamed ''the door of the desert'', is a city and capital of Ouarzazate Province in the region of Dr ...
, Morocco, since 2008


Sights

* Several streets in Bédarieux retain their 17th-century architecture. * The former castle, ''La Bastide'' dates from the fourteenth century. It has
machicolation A machicolation (french: mâchicoulis) is a floor opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement, through which stones or other material, such as boiling water, hot sand, quicklime or boiling cooking oil, could be dropped on attackers at t ...
s, arrow slits and a 16th-century well. A wooden beam has been
dendrochronologically Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atmos ...
dated to 1350, but evidence exists to suggest this had been part of the machicolations of a lower, squatter tower. The well, too, may date from this first construction by the Abbey of Villemagne, (a nearby village) as part of the defences of the ford crossing the River Orb. A document dated 1156 records the king,
Louis VII Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger, or the Young (french: link=no, le Jeune), was King of the Franks from 1137 to 1180. He was the son and successor of King Louis VI (hence the epithet "the Young") and married Duchess ...
, granting the Abbot the right to extend the fortifications protecting his properties. This, it is assumed, included the construction of La Bastide. The whole property was sold into private hands in the late 16th century, when it became a ''domaine'' owning all the land between itself and Bédarieux, two kilometres away. * The ''Promenade de la Perspective'' (1742), a dyke built to protect the town from the flooding of the river Orb. 200-year-old
plane trees ''Platanus'' is a genus consisting of a small number of tree species native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole living members of the family Platanaceae. All mature members of ''Platanus'' are tall, reaching in height. All except f ...
grow along its length. * 16th-century bridge over the Orb * 19th-century
railway viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide ...
with 37 arches * Church of Saint-Alexandre built in the 17th–19th century (though recorded in 1189) * ''Maison des Arts:'' a museum occupying a former hospice. It was opened in 1976 and collects together regional heritage: painting, folklore, archaeology, geology, natural history, folk arts and traditions.


Personalities

*
Paul Rabaut Paul Rabaut (29 January 1718 – 25 September 1794) was a French pastor of the Huguenot "Church of the Desert". He was regarded by many as the leader and director of the proscribed church. He was a peacemaker and a scholar despite, due to perse ...
(1718–94): Protestant pastor. * Guillaume d'Abbes de Cabrebolles (1718–1802), Encyclopédiste was born in Bédarieux. * Louis-Annibal Escalle (1737–99): Adjudant-Général, one of
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
's lieutenants during his campaigns in Italy and Egypt, died at the siege of
Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...
. *
Ferdinand Fabre Portrait by Jean-Paul Laurens Ferdinand Simon Fabre (9 June 1827 – 11 February 1898) was a French novelist whose novels depict the life of the peasants and clergy of his native region, the upper valley of the river Orb, in the département ...
(1827–98): writer, novelist, mixing
Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language Occitan (; o ...
vocabulary with French in his works (''Les Courbezon'' 1861, ''Mon oncle Célestin'' 1881, ''Toussaint Galabru'' 1887). He died five days before his election to the
Académie Française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...
. *
Pierre Auguste Cot Pierre Auguste Cot (; 17 February 1837 – 2 August 1883) was a French painter of the Academic Classicism school. Life and career Cot was born in Bédarieux, Hérault, and initially studied at l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Toulouse before going t ...
(1837–83): French romantic painter. ''Le Printemps'' (Spring) is one of his best-known works. * Eugène Vaillé (1875–1959): French postal historian and first curator of the French Postal Museum ('' musée postal de France''), later the Museum of the Post Office. * Guillaume Bouisset (born 7 January 1973), footballer *
Vincent Candela Vincent Philippe Antoine Candela (born 24 October 1973) is a French former professional footballer. With the French national team, Candela won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000. Early life Candela was born in Bédarieux, Hérault. Clu ...
(born 24 October 1973), French footballer who played for many years in Italy, 40 appearances for his national team, including the
World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
in 1998.


See also

*
Communes of the Hérault department The following is a list of the 342 communes of the Hérault department of France. The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2020):Official site of the town of Bédarieux

Pictures of Bedarieux
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bedarieux Communes of Hérault