France City  -  Montpellier

It is the capital of the Languedoc-Roussillon région, as well as the préfecture (administrative capital) of the Hérault département.

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.

Place de la Comédie in Montpellier

Local Attractions - Places to Visit    

The notable sights in Montpellier are:

• Botanical Garden
• 14th Century Cathedral of Saint - Pierre
• Porte du Peyrou More>>
• 17th Century Aqueduct Saint-Clément More>>

The St-Clément Aqueduct

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 encouraged settlement a little further inland. More>>

Access / Local Transportation    

The airport of Montpellier-Méditerranée Airport is located in the area of Fréjorgues in the town of Mauguio. More>>

Geography    

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]; an alternative theory is that it was named for the hill of Monte Pestelario.

Economy    

It is a major industrial centre, producing textiles, metal goods, wine, printed materials and chemicals.

Culture    

Centre Chorégraphique National de Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon.

University    

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. More>>

Population     

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.

Famous People    

Montpellier was the birth place of

• Antoine Jerome Balard (1802-1876), chemist
• Frédéric Bazille (1841-1870), Impressionist painter
• Alexandre Cabanel (1823-1889), painter
• Auguste Comte (1798-1857), a founder of the discipline of sociology
• Jeanne Demessieux (1921-1968), organist, pianist, composer, and pedagogue
• Natalia Lannes (1986-??), Ballerina famous for her mood swings
• Pierre Magnol (1638-1715). botanist, founder of the concept of plant families
• Léo Malet (1909-1996), crime novelist
• Guillaume Mathieu, comte Dumas (1753-1837), military leader
• Charles Bernard Renouvier (1815-1903), philosopher
• Édouard Albert Roche (1820-1883), astronomer
• Émile Saisset (1814-1863), philosopher
• Jean Jacques Régis de Cambacérès (1753-1824), lawyer and statesman, author of the Code Napoléon

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

Credits : This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Montpellier".