Montpellier (Occitan Montpelhièr) is a city in the south of France. It is the capital of the Languedoc-Roussillon région, as well as the préfecture (administrative capital) of the Hérault département. Population of the city (commune) of Montpellier at the 1999 census was 225,392 inhabitants, whereas the whole metropolitan area (in French: aire urbaine) had a population of 459,916 inhabitants in 1999. As of February 2004 estimates, the population of the city of Montpellier reached 244,700 inhabitants, meaning a record 1.7% population growth per year between 1999 and 2004.

Geography and economy

The city is situated on hilly ground 10 km (6 miles) inland from the Mediterranean coast at the coordinates 43°37N 3°52E, on the River Lez . The name of the city, originally Monspessulanus, is said to have stood for mont pelé (the naked hill, because the vegetation was poor), or le mont de la colline (the mount of the hill) [1]. It is a major industrial centre, producing textiles, metal goods, wine, printed materials and chemicals.

History

Montpellier is one of the few cities in France that does not have a Roman background. In the early Middle Ages the nearby episcopal town of Maguelone was the major settlement in the area, but raids by pirates probably encouraged settlement a little further inland. The city was founded in the 8th century but came to prominence in the 10th century as a trading centre under the rule of the counts of Toulouse. It became a possession of the kings of Aragon by the marriage of Peter II of Aragon with Marie of Montpellier . James III of Majorca sold the city to the French king Philip VI to raise funds for his ongoing struggle with Peter IV of Aragon.

At the time of the Reformation, many of its inhabitants became Protestants (or Huguenots as they were known in France) and it became a stronghold of Protestant resistance to the (mainly Catholic) French crown. In 1622, King Louis XIII beseiged the city and took it after eight months. During the 19th century the city developed into an industrial centre. In the 1960s, its population grew dramatically after French settlers in Algeria were resettled in the city following Algeria's independence from France.

Lords of Montpellier

• William I of Montpellier (d. 1019)
• William II of Montpellier (d. 1025)
• William III of Montpellier (d. 1058)
• William IV of Montpellier (d. 1068)
• William V of Montpellier (d. 1120)
• William VI of Montpellier (d. 1149)
• William VII of Montpellier (d. 1179)
• William VIII of Montpellier (d. 1202)
• Marie of Montpellier (d. 1219)
  • and Barral of Marseilles (d. 1194)
  • and Bernard IV of Comminges (div. 1201)
  • and King Peter II of Aragon (d. 1213)
• James I of Aragon (d. 1276)
• James II of Majorca (d. 1311)

Sources: Lewis, Archibald. The Guillems of Montpellier: A Sociological Appraisal, 1971.

Notable sights

The University of Montpellier is one of the oldest in France, having been granted a charter in 1220 by Cardinal Conrad von Urach and confirmed by Pope Nicholas IV in a papal bull of 1289. It was suppressed during the French Revolution but was re-established in 1896.

Several housing projects have been designed by the Catalan architect Ricardo Bofill.

The city has a fine botanical garden, the first in France, founded in 1593. Near the university is the 14th century cathedral of Saint-Pierre, distinguished mainly for its very unusual porch supported by two high, somewhat rocket-like towers. Nearby is a triumphal arch, the Porte du Peyrou, of 1691 designed in the Doric style with later carvings glorifying King Louis XIV of France. The 17th century Aqueduc St-Clément is a 17th century aqueduct covering an 800m span across the eponymous Les Arceaux ("The Arches") district of the city; it was used to bring water from the St Clément spring 14 km away. The aqueduct emptied into a water tank near the triumphal arch, from where the water would run downhill to fill fountains and public water points.

Famous inhabitants of Montpellier

Montpellier was the birthplace of:

• Antoine Jerome Balard (1802-1876), chemist
• Alexandre Cabanel (1823-1889), painter
• Frédéric Bazille (1841-1870), Impressionist painter
• Auguste Comte (1798-1857), a founder of the discipline of sociology
• Léo Malet (1909-1996), crime novelist
• Guillaume Mathieu, comte Dumas (1753-1837), military leader
• Charles Bernard Renouvier (1815-1903), philosopher
• Émile Saisset (1814-1863), philosopher

François Rabelais (1493-1553) and Nostradamus (1503-1566) studied at the University of Montpellier.

External link

• Official web site (in French): http://www.ville-montpellier.fr/