Montpellier

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Name	Montpellier
Caption	Place de la Comédie
Region	Languedoc-Roussillon
Department	Hérault
Arrondissement	Montpellier
Canton	chief town of 10 cantons
Insee	34172
Postal code	34000, 34070, 34080, 34090
Demonym	Montpelliérains
Mayor	Hélène Mandroux-Colas
Term	2008–2014
Intercommunality	Montpellier
Latitude	43.61194
Longitude	3.87722
Elevation m	27
Elevation min m	7
Elevation max m	118
Area km2	56.88
Population	265634
Population ranking	8th in France
Population date	2009
Website	http://www.montpellier.fr/

|- | |} Montpellier (Occitan: Montpelhièr) is a city in southern France. It is the capital of the Languedoc-Roussillon region, as well as the Hérault department. Montpellier is the 8th largest city of the country, and is also the fastest growing city in France over the past 25 years.

History

Montpellier is one of the few large cities in France without a (Gallo-)Roman background.

Medieval period

In the Early Middle Ages, the nearby episcopal town of Maguelone was the major settlement in the area, but raids by pirates encouraged settlement a little further inland. Montpellier, first mentioned in a document of 985, was founded under a local feudal dynasty, the Guillem counts of Toulouse, who joined together two hamlets and built a castle and walls around the united settlement. The two surviving towers of the city walls, the Tour des Pins and the Tour de la Babotte are later in date, however. Montpellier came to prominence in the 10th century as a trading centre, with trading links across the Mediterranean world and a rich Jewish cultural life and traditions of tolerance of its Muslims, Jews and Cathars—and later of its Protestants. William VII of Montpellier established a faculty of medicine in 1180, recognised by Pope Nicholas IV; the city's university was established in 1220 and was one of the chief centers for the teaching of medicine. This marked the high point of Montpellier's prominence. The city became a possession of the kings of Aragon in 1213 by the marriage of Peter II of Aragon with Marie of Montpellier, who brought the city as her dowry. Montpellier gained a charter in 1204 when Peter and Marie confirmed the city's traditional freedoms and granted the city the right to choose twelve governing consuls annually. Montpellier remained a possession of the crown of Aragon until it passed to James III of Majorca, who sold the city to the French king Philip VI in 1349, to raise funds for his ongoing struggle with Peter IV of Aragon. In the 14th century, Montpellier gained a church (not yet a cathedral) dedicated to Saint Peter, noteworthy for its very unusual porch supported by two high, somewhat rocket-like towers. With its importance steadily increasing, the city finally gained a bishop, who moved from Maguelone in 1536 and sat in the neighbouring community of Montpelliéret (eventually absorbed into Montpellier proper). In 1432, Jacques Cœur established himself in the city and it became an important economic centre, until 1481 when Marseille took over this role.

After the Reformation

At the time of the Reformation in the sixteenth century, many of the inhabitants of Montpellier became Protestants (or Huguenots as they were known in France) and the city became a stronghold of Protestant resistance to the Catholic French crown. In 1622, King Louis XIII besieged the city and took it after eight months, in the Siege of Montpellier, afterwards building the Citadel of Montpellier to secure it. Louis XIV made Montpellier capital of Bas Languedoc, and the town started to embellish itself, by building the Promenade du Peyrou, the Esplanade and a large number of houses in the historic centre. After the French Revolution, the city became the capital of the much smaller Hérault.

Modern history

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. In the 1980s and 1990s, the city drew attention with a number of major redevelopment projects, such as the Corum and especially the Antigone District.

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 King Peter II of Aragon (d. 1213)

James I of Aragon (d. 1276)

James II of Majorca (d. 1311)

Geography

The city is situated on hilly ground inland from the Mediterranean coast on the River Lez. The name of the city, which was 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)

Montpellier is located from Nîmes, from Marseille, from Toulouse. It is at a distance of from the capital of France, Paris.

Montpellier's highest point is the Place du Peyrou, at an altitude of . The city is built on two hills, Montpellier and Montpelliéret, thus some of its streets have great differences of altitude. Some of its streets are also very narrow and old, which gives it a more intimate feel.

Climate

Montpellier has a Mediterranean climate (Koppen Csa), with mild, somewhat wet winters, and very warm, rather dry summers. The monthly mean ranges from in January to in July. Precipitation is around , and is greatest in fall and winter, but not absent in summer, either.

Neighbourhoods

Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council.

Montpellier-centre : historical centre (Écusson), Comédie, Gares, Faubourg Boutonnet, Saint-Charles, Faubourg Saint-Jaume, Peyrou, Les Arceaux, Figuerolles, Faubourg du Courreau, Gambetta, Clémenceau, Méditerranée, boulevard de Strasbourg, Le Triangle, Polygone, Antigone, Nouveau-Monde, Parc à Ballons, Les Aubes, Les Beaux-Arts, Saint-Lazare.

Croix-d'Argent : avenue de Toulouse, Croix d'Argent, Mas Drevon, Tastavin, Lemasson, Garosud, Mas de Bagnères, Mas Nouguier, les Sabines, Lepic, Pas du Loup, Estanove, Val-de-Crozes, Bagatelle.

Les Cévennes : Les Cévennes, Alco, Le Petit Bard, Pergola, Saint-Clément, Clémentville, Las Rebès, La Chamberte, La Martelle, Montpellier-Village, Les Grisettes, Les Grèzes.

Mosson : La Mosson, Celleneuve, La Paillade, les Hauts-de-Massane, Le Grand-Mail, Les Tritons.

Hôpitaux-Facultés : Malbosc, Saint-Priest, Euromédecine, Zolad, Plan des 4 Seigneurs, Hôpitaux, IUT, Père Soulas, Universités, Vert-Bois, Hauts de Boutonnet, Aiguelongue, Justice, Parc zoologique de Lunaret, Agropolis.

Port-Marianne : La Pompignane, Richter, Millénaire, Jacques Cœur, Consuls de Mer, Grammont, Odysseum, Montaubérou, La Méjanelle, La Mogère.

Prés d'Arènes : Les Prés d'Arènes, Avenue de Palavas, La Rauze, Tournezy, Saint-Martin, Les Aiguerelles, Pont-Trinquat, Cité Mion.

Population

The population of the commune of Montpellier at the 2006 census was 251,392. The whole metropolitan area had a population of 600,000 in 2006. In 2009, it was estimated that the population of the city of Montpellier had reached 265,000. In 2008, the estimated population of the metropolitan area was 533,000.

Heraldry

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Main sights

The main focus point of the city is the Place de la Comédie.

The Musée Fabre

In the historic centre, a significant number of Hôtels can be found.

The Jardin des plantes de Montpellier – oldest botanical garden in France, founded in 1593

The La Serre Amazonienne, an Amazon greenhouse

The fourteenth century Saint Pierre Cathedral

The Porte du Peyrou, a triumphal arch

The Saint Clément Aqueduct

The Antigone District and other housing projects have been designed by the architect Ricardo Bofill from Catalonia, Spain

A number of châteaux, so-called follies, built by wealthy merchants surround the city

Education

The University of Montpellier is one of the oldest in the World, 1160, 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.

It is not known exactly at what date the schools of literature were founded which developed into the Montpellier faculty of arts; it may be that they were a direct continuation of the Gallo-Roman schools. The school of law was founded by Placentinus, a doctor from Bologna university, who came to Montpellier in 1160, taught there during two different periods, and died there in 1192. The school of medicine was founded perhaps by a graduate of the Spanish medical schools; it is certain that, as early as 1137, there were excellent physicians at Montpellier. The statutes given in 1220 by Cardinal Conrad, legate of Honorius III, which were completed in 1240 by Pierre de Conques, placed this school under the direction of the Bishop of Maguelonne. Pope Nicholas IV issued a Bull in 1289, combining all the schools into a university, which was placed under the direction of the bishop, but which in fact enjoyed a large measure of autonomy.

Theology was at first taught in the convents, in which St. Anthony of Padua, Raymond Lullus, and the Dominican Bernard de la Treille lectured. Two letters of King John prove that a faculty of theology existed at Montpellier independently of the convents, in January 1350. By a Bull of 17 December 1421, Martin V granted canonical institution to this faculty and united it closely with the faculty of law. In the sixteenth century the faculty of theology disappeared for a time, when Calvinism, in the reign of Henry II of France, held complete possession of the city. It resumed its functions after Louis XIII had reestablished the royal power at Montpellier in 1622; but the rivalries of Dominicans and Jesuits interfered seriously with the prosperity of the faculty, which disappeared at the Revolution. The faculty numbered among its illustrious pupils of law Petrarch, who spent four years at Montpellier, and among its lecturers Guillaume de Nogaret, chancellor to Philip the Fair, Guillaume de Grimoard, afterwards pope under the name of Urban V, and Pedro de Luna, antipope as Benedict XIII. But after the 15th century this faculty fell into decay, as did also the faculty of arts, although for a time, under Henry IV of France, the latter faculty had among its lecturers Casaubon.

The Montpellier school of medicine owed its success to the ruling of the Guilhems, lords of the town, by which any licensed physician might lecture there; there was no fixed limit to the number of teachers, lectures were multiplied, and there was a great wealth of teaching. Rabelais took his medical degrees at Montpellier. It was in this school that the biological theory of vitalism, elaborated by Barthez (1734–1806), had its origin. The French Revolution did not interrupt the existence of the faculty of medicine.

The faculties of science and of letters were re-established in 1810; that of law in 1880. It was on the occasion of the sixth centenary of the university, celebrated in 1889, that the Government of France announced its intention – which has since been realized – of reorganizing the provincial universities in France.

Transport

stop.]] Montpellier is served by railway, including TGV highspeed trains. Montpellier's main railway station is Saint-Roch. There are plans to construct a high-speed railway linking Nîmes and Montpellier with the LGV Méditerranée.

The Montpellier – Méditerranée Airport is located in the area of Fréjorgues, in the town of Mauguio, southeast of Montpellier.

The Transports de l'agglomération de Montpellier (TaM) manages the city's public transportation, including its tramway network consisting of two lines and several parking facilities. Line 1 runs from Mosson in the west to Odysseum in the east. Line 2 runs from Jacou in the northeast to St. Jean-de-Vedas in the southwest. They intersect at Gare St. Roch station, Place de l'Europe and again in front of the Corum. Work on Line 3, which is planned to be in service by 2012, has started. This line will link Juvignac and Perols with a branch to Lattes and will serve 32 stations. A fourth line is planned. Recently the Tram and the bus lines have been shut down for several days at a time due to strikes by the employees.

The TaM also manages the large bike sharing scheme Vélomagg', started in June 2007, comprising 1200 bicycles and 50 stations.

Sport

Montpellier was the finish of Stage 11 and the departure of Stage 12 in the 2007 Tour de France. The city is home to a variety of professional sports teams:

Montpellier HSC of Ligue 1 who play association football at the Stade de la Mosson

Montpellier Hérault RC, of the Top 14 who play rugby union formerly at the Stade Sabathé and now at the Stade Yves du Manoir. In the 2010/2011 season, the team made it to the Top 14 Final against the Stade Toulousain.

Montpellier Red Devils who play rugby league in Elite 1 division at the Stade Sabathé

Montpellier Agglomération Handball are a team handball club playing in the French National League.

Montpellier Vipers of France's Division 1 ice hockey Federation, play at the Patinoire de l'Agglomération de Montpellier at Odysseum

Montpellier Water Polo is playing in the National League and European Cup competitions.

The city is also home to the Open Sud de France tennis tournament since 2010.

Culture

The Festival de Radio France et Montpellier is a summer festival of opera and music held in Montpellier. The music festival concentrates on classical music and jazz with about 150 events, including opera, concerts, films, and talks. Most of these events are free and are held in the historic courtyards of the city or the modern concert halls of Le Corum. Le Corum cultural and conference centre contains 3 auditoriums. The city is a high-place for the cultural events since there is a lot of students. Montpellier has two big concerts arenas : Le Zenith Sud (7.000 seats) and L'Arena (14.000 seats).

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Montpellier is twinned with:

Famous inhabitants of Montpellier

Montpellier was the birthplace of:

Abraham ben Isaac of Narbonne (c.1110–1179), rabbi and author of the halakhic work Ha-Eshkol.

Saint Roch (1295–1327), pilgrim to Rome, venerated as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church

Pierre Magnol (1638–1715), botanist, founder of the concept of plant families

Jean Jacques Régis de Cambacérès (1753–1824), lawyer and statesman, author of the Code Napoléon

Guillaume Mathieu, comte Dumas (1753–1837), military leader

Auguste Comte (1798–1857), a founder of the discipline of sociology

Antoine Jérôme Balard (1802–1876), chemist

Émile Saisset (1814–1863), philosopher

Charles Bernard Renouvier (1815–1903), philosopher

Édouard Albert Roche (1820–1883), astronomer

Alfred Bruyas (1821–1876), art collector

Alexandre Cabanel (1823–1889), painter

Frédéric Bazille (1841–1870), Impressionist painter

Léo Malet (1909–1996), crime novelist

Jeanne Demessieux (1921–1968), organist, pianist, composer, and pedagogue

Monique de Bissy, member of the Resistance during World War II (1923–2009)

Jean-Luc Dehaene (1940– ), Prime-Minister of Belgium

Rémi Gaillard (1975– ), famous French prankster

Other famous inhabitants include:

François Rabelais (1493–1553) was a student at the University of Montpellier

Nostradamus (1503–1566) was a student at the University of Montpellier

Ioan Iacob Heraclid, ruler of Moldavia from 1561–1563

Pierre-Joseph Amoreux (1741–1824), zoologist

Jean-Louis Michel (1785–1865), fencing master, who lived in Montpellier from 1830 onwards

Gaston Darboux (1842–1917), mathematician

Josias Braun-Blanquet (1884–1980), botanist

Alexander Grothendieck (1928–), mathematician

Nikola Karabatić (1984–) handball player

Paul Valery (1871–1945) was a student at the University of Montpellier

Enver Hoxha (1908–1985) was a student at the University of Montpellier

Jaume Cañellas Galindo (1965–), psychiatrist

Grégory Vignal (1981–), Birmingham City F.C. full-back

Jim Fitzgerald (1963–), St.Aloysuis College prop forward and raconteur

Other locations named after Montpellier

"Montpellier" is used as the name of other towns and streets in as many as four continents. Many places in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland carry the name Montpellier. Often they are in resort locations claiming some of the healthy attributes for which the French city was renowned in earlier centuries. The variant spelling "Montpelier" is common, and is of quite early provenance. Brewer uses that spelling.

Secondary Montpelliers/Montpeliers are also found in Australia, Canada, South Africa, and the Caribbean.

The capital of the American state of Vermont was named Montpelier because of the high regard held by the Americans for the French who aided their Revolutionary War against the British. Several other American cities are also named Montpelier.

See also

Bishopric of Montpellier

References

;Bibliography ;Notes

External links

Official website

TAM – Public Transport System

A visitor in Montpellier – from The Official Francis Hannaway Website People of Montpellier

Catholic Encyclopedia Montpellier

Beloved son Felix – journal of a medical student in Montpellier in the 16th century (english translation)

Boating guide The navigable River Lez to Lattes/Montpellier.

Category:Communes of Hérault Category:University towns