Montagnac (; ) is a 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 Occitanie

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 ...

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 ...

History

*The Saint-Martin Chapel was mentioned in 847. *Protestant population: the town was devastated during the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease di ...

. *The feudal

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

, Château de Lavagnac, was dismantled in the 17th century on the orders of Richelieu and remodelled in accordance with the tastes of the day. It is currently the subject of an enormous tourism project which is opposed by a minority of the local population.

Population

Its inhabitants are called ''Montagnacois'' in French. Map commune FR insee code 34162

International relations

Montagnac is twinned with Nerpio in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Personalities

Jean Henri Latude Jean Henri Latude (23 March 1725 – 1 January 1805), often called Danry or Masers de Latude, was a French writer famous for his lengthy confinement in the Bastille and Château de Vincennes, Vincennes, and for his repeated escapes from those pri ...

, French prisoner, famous for his escapes * Paula Delsol, novelist and film director. *

Charles Camichel Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

(1871–1966) physician born in Montagnac. * Samuel Honrubia French International handball player, World champion, European champion, Olympic champion and France champion. Montagnac was his first club, he play now for PSG.

Sights

*Église Saint-André* 12th/14th century : steeple, open tower, doorway with arching and colonnettes, machicolated porch, choir with seven stretches of vaulted wall, 15th century stone bas-relief of Christ, 16th century wooden statue of St Peter, painting of the Holy Family by Bestieu from 1830, four

caryatid A caryatid ( ; ; ) is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head. The Greek term ''karyatides'' literally means "maidens of Karyai", an ancient t ...

s from 1750 and 1759, wooden Virgin from 1780, 18th century pulpit, an 18th-century main altar; eleven 17th century stalls, bell from 1492 *Chapelle Saint-Martin de la Garrigue 12th century :

blind arcade Blind often refers to: * The state of blindness, being unable to see * A window blind, a covering for a window Blind may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Blind'' (1987 film), a documentary by Frederick Wiseman about t ...

s, half domed

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

. *Chapelle des pénitents 18th century. *Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-la-Peyrière 19th century. *Hôtel de Rat. *Hôtel de Pegat.

References

External links

Official site

Bessilles resort

Fiche Station Verte de Montagnac
Communes of Hérault {{Hérault-geo-stub