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Bédarieux (; ) is a town and commune in the
Hérault Hérault (; , ) is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault (river), Hérault River, its Prefectures in France, prefecture is M ...
department in the
region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
of Occitanie in southern
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. The town is surrounded by the Espinouse mountain and Orb river, and is in the Haut-Languedoc Regional Nature Park. The inhabitants are called ''Bédariciens''.


Geography

Bédarieux is west of
Montpellier Montpellier (; ) 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 France, department of ...
and north of
Béziers Béziers (; ) is a city in southern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. Every August Béziers ho ...
. 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 climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...
(
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
''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 ...
from the end of the 17th century to the French Revolution, 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 the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...
, 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 (), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)), and diaspore (α-AlO(OH) ...
and
coal mines Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...
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 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 genera ...
, Léotard, who had been fighting for
Napoléon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...
. 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 ...
was constructed across the Orb valley, giving rail access to the coal mines at Graissessac. The railway facilitated communications with
Béziers Béziers (; ) is a city in southern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. Every August Béziers ho ...
,
Sète Sète (; , ), also historically spelled ''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'' (fem ...
and
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
, 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, Tunisia, since 1999 *
Ouarzazate Ouarzazate (; , ), nicknamed ''the door of the desert'', is a city and capital of Ouarzazate Province in the region of Drâa-Tafilalet, south-central Morocco. Ouarzazate is a primary tourist destination in Morocco during the holidays, as well as ...
, 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 In architecture, a machicolation () is an opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement through which defenders could target attackers who had reached the base of the defensive wall. A smaller related structure that only protects key ...
s, arrow slits and a 16th-century well. A wooden beam has been dendrochronologically 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 () to differentiate him from his father Louis VI, was King of France from 1137 to 1180. His first marriage was to Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the wealthiest and ...
, 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. The type ...
grow along its length. * 16th-century bridge over the Orb * 19th-century railway viaduct 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 (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 (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
's lieutenants during his campaigns in Italy and Egypt, died at the siege of
Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...
. * Ferdinand Fabre (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, spoken in parts 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 tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
. * Pierre Auguste Cot (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 (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 name is ...
in 1998.


See also

*
Communes of the Hérault department 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 ...


References


External links


Official site of the town of Bédarieux

Pictures of Bedarieux
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bedarieux Communes of Hérault