Soubès (; ) 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 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 ...

, situated on a hill near the confluence of the Brèze and Suberbet rivers. The village dates from the 12th Century, and even today only one main street, the ''Coural'', is suitable for motor traffic. The ancient city walls are visible in many places. The village has two ''châteaux'', a church, two schools, a ''

Mairie In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

'', a café (Café du Terral), a small

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

and a

general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...

. A modernBuilt in 1979 on the initiative of Maire Lassalle. sports and social centre lies just outside the village proper, the other side of the D25 road to

Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

Economy

Until very recent times the village was surrounded by vineyards, and

viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...

was the primary economic activity. Stocks of the widely grown

Carignan Carignan (; also known as Mazuelo, Bovale Grande, Cariñena, Carinyena, Samsó, Carignane, and Carignano) is a red grape variety of Spanish origin that is more commonly found in French wine but is widely planted throughout the western Medite ...

red grape variety are very sturdy, and the characteristic vineyards of the region therefore have no trellises. Soubès never had its own wine-making facility, however, and vignerons are obliged to take their grapes to the '' Cave Coopérative'' either in

Lodève Lodève (; , ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Hérault, in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, southern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefe ...

or Pégairolles-de-l'Escalette. Overproduction of the local table wine has forced a decline in viticulture recently, and the production of other fruit such as

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...

es and

apricot An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''. Usually an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...

s has partly replaced the wine-based economy.

Festival

Like all villages of the region, Soubès takes pride in its annual ''

fête In the United Kingdom and some of its former colonies, a fête or fete is a public festival organised to raise money for a charity, typically held outdoors. It generally includes entertainment and the sale of goods and refreshments. Fetes are ty ...

'', which is held the weekend following the first Monday in August. Traditional festive events include dances every night,

pétanque Pétanque (, ; ; ) is a sport that falls into the category of boules sports (along with Raffa (boules), raffa, bocce, boule lyonnaise, Bowls, lawn bowls, and Crown green bowls, crown green bowling). In these sports, players or teams play thei ...

and belotte tournaments, and a very popular game of loto. Sometimes yearling bulls are run through the Coural in an ''abrivado'', a very tamed-down version of the Pamplonada. In the month of August the population doubles and redoubles as summer visitors (''estivants'') arrive to enjoy the hot climate and peaceful atmosphere.

Administration

Population

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soubes Communes of Hérault

Economy

Festival

Administration

Population

See also

References