Bédarieux

French commune
nomcommune=Bédarieux
Statue of Ferdinand Fabre
région=Languedoc-Roussillon
département=Hérault
arrondissement=Béziers
canton=Bédarieux
insee=34028
cp=34600
maire=Antoine Martinez
mandat=2001-2008
intercomm=
longitude=3.15972222222
latitude=43.6169444444
alt moy=196 m
alt mini=184
alt maxi=520 m
hectares=2782
km²=27.82
sans=5962
date-sans=1999
dens=214
date-dens=1999

Bédarieux, ( _oc. Bedarius) is a commune in the Hérault department in the region of Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France.

The inhabitants are called "Bédariciens".

Geography

As the crow flies, Bédarieux is 56 km (35 miles) west of Montpellier and 30 km (19 miles) north of Béziers. The commune is in the Orb valley, the river flowing north-south into Bédarieux and east-west downstream.

History

The Saint-Nazaire de Lodéran chapel (now disappeared) was mentioned in 1153. In the 17th century, Bédarieux had important cloth factories.

ites

* Several streets in Bédarieux retain their 17th-century architecture.
* The former castle, "La Bastide" dates from the 14th century. It has machicolations, arrow slits and a 16th-century well. A wooden beam has been dendrochronologically dated to 1350, but evidence exists to suggest this was part of adding the machicolations to 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, 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 from its site to Bedarieux, two kilometres away.
* The "Promenade de la Perspective" (1742), a dyke built to protect the town from Orb floods, is lined with 200-year-old plane trees.
* 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" Museum in the former hospice, created in 1976 to collect together regional heritage: painting, folklore, archaeology, geology, botany, popular arts and traditions.

Personalities

* Paul Rabaut (1718–94): protestant pastor.
* Louis-Annibal Escalle (1737–99): Adjudant-Général, one of Napoleon's lieutenants during his campaigns in Italy and Egypt, died at the siege of Acre.
* Ferdinand Fabre (1827–98): writer, novelist, mixing lots of Occitan vocabulary with French in his works ("Les Courbezon" 1861, "Mon oncle Célestin" 1881, "Toussaint Galabru" 1887). Ferdinand Fabre dies five days before his election to the Académie Française.
* Pierre Auguste Cot (1837–83): French romantic painter ("Le Printemps" (Spring) is one of his best-known works).
* Eugène Vaillé (1875–1959): French postal history expert and first curator of the French Postal Museum ("musée postal de France"), later the Museum of the Post Office ("musée de La Poste").
* 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 in 1998.

ee also

* Communes of the Hérault département

ources

*Translation/Ref|fr|Bédarieux|oldid=12167704
* [http://www.quid.fr/communes.html?mode=detail&id=19028&req=Bedarieux&style=fiche Bédarieux entry at Quid.fr]

External links

* [http://www.bedarieux.fr/en/bedarieux.html Official site of the town of Bédarieux]
* [http://www.quid.fr/communes.html?mode=query&req=Bedarieux Bédarieux on Quid.fr] fr icon
* [http://www.lion1906.com/Pages/ResultatLocalisation.php?InseeVille=340028 Position of Bédarieux on a map of France] fr icon
* [http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?latlongtype=decimal&latitude=43.6169444444444&longitude=3.15972222222222&zoom=8 Map of Bédarieux on Mapquest]
* [http://www.bedarieux.net Pictures of Bedarieux]