Montpellier (Municipality, Hérault, France)

Last modified: 2005-07-09 by ivan sache
Keywords: herault | montpellier | disc (red) | throne | blessed virgin | baby jesus | letter: m |
Links: FOTW homepage | search | disclaimer and copyright | write us | mirrors

by Arnaud Leroy

Source: Mairie de Montpellier

• Presentation of Montpellier
• Flags seen in Montpellier
• Flag with the municipal coat of arms

See also:

• France
• Hérault (Department, France)
• Montpellier District (Municipality association, Hérault, France)

Presentation of Montpellier

Montpellier is a city of 229,055 inhabitants (1999 census), prefecture of both the department of Hérault and the Region Languedoc-Roussillon. Montpellier is therefore the eigth largest French city, just before Bordeaux. The population of the city doubled during the 40 last years.

In 985, a local lord named Guilhem was granted two manses (estates) by his suzereign, the Count of Mauguio. One of these estates was a hill called the Monte Pestelario, on which the Guilhem dynasty thrived. In the XIth century, Montpellier was a small fortified city with a castle and a church, which indicated some importance. In the beginning of the XIIIth century, the city was reorganized by building new city walls linking Montpellier, the seigneural city, and Montpelliéret, the bishop's city. A faculty of medicine and a law and art college were created, and Montpellier got its own