Brief History of Montpellier

The Place de la Comedie, the central sqaure of Montpellier

Montepellier is one of the largest cities on the French Meditteranean coast. It is the capital and the seat of the Prefecture for the department of Herault which forms part of the Languedoc-Roussillon region.

The city, located on hilly terrain, lies on the River Lez  approximately 10 km from the coast. It is an industrial centre with an emphasis on medical and agrarian technology, textiles, metal-working, wine and chemicals.

Montpellier is one of the few major French cities which was not founded by Roman colonists.

The city was originally known as Monspessulanus which is thought to be a corruption of Mont Pele meaning naked hill (i.e. without vegetation).

Its earliest mention is in a deed dated November 986 AD which transferred the site of the present town to the Count of Toulouse,  Bernard de Melgueil.

His descendents constructed a castle and the settlement became a strategic stronghold which dominated the old Roman costal road known as the via Domitia and the nearby harbour.

Tour de La Babote, Montpellier. Part of the city's early fortifications. Image published under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, verison 1.2 or later

The town became a conduit for trade between northern Europe Spain and the Meditteranean. It acquired a cosmopolitan population including a high proportion of Jews and Moslems and became a regional centre for goldsmiths, clothmakers and other tradesmen.

Montpellier became a possession of  the Kingdom of Aragon after  the marriage in 1204 of Marie of Montpellier to Peter II of Aragon.

Two years later the city was formally granted the privilege of self-governance through the annual appointment of twelve consuls.

During the Middle Ages pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela passed through Montpellier. The city's church, the Notre-Dame des Tables, became a notable place of worship.

Several hospitals and charitable institutions were also founded. The city's famous medical school was established in 1220.

Desperate for funds to finance foreign wars, James III of Majorca, the great-grandson of Marie of Montpellier and Peter II of Aragon, sold Montpellier to the French King Philip VI in 1349.

Montpellier immediately became the second most important city in France but shortly aftewards two-thirds of its population perished in plague epidemics. 

The city's fortunes rose again in 1432 when Jacques Coeur, the king's chief financier, settled in the city.

However, Montpellier did not acquire its own bishop until 1536 when the former bishop of Maguelone transferred his see from the neighbouring parish of Montpellieret.

In the same year work commenced on the construction of the city's cathedral, Saint Peters, which was built on the site of the former Saint Benoit cloister.

A herbal garden, the oldest of its kind in France, was also planted in the grounds of the city's medical school in 1593.

The Porte du Peyrou constructed by Louis XIV in 1693 in celebration of the expulsion of the Hougenouts from Montpellier

In the late 16th century the town became a haven for the Huguenots who were forced to flee northern France. The Treaty of Nantes allowed them to reside in Montpellier but was  renounced by the staunchly catholic Louis XIII in 1622.

The largely Protestant city of Montpellier was subsequently besieged and conquered. A citadel was built outside its walls so that it might be reconquered whenever necessary.

Louis XIV made Montpellier the capital of the Bas Languedoc region. He also completed his father's persecution of the Huguenots by driving them from Montpellier and the rest of France in 1685.

This "victory" was celebrated by the construction in Montpellier of a triumphal arch, the "Porte du Peyrou" (1693), in honour of Louis XIV.

The Saint-Clement Aqueduct, which carries water 14 km from a village of the same name, was also constructed in the 17th century. It fills a water tank in the vicinity of the arch.

The Saint-Clement Aqueduct. Photo published under the GNU Free Documentation license, version 1.2 or later

After the French Revolution, Montpellier declined in importance. It was later made the capital of the much smaller department of Herault.

However, the city experienced rapid growth in the fifties and sixties when  many pieds-noirs (French Algerians) settled in southern France after their expulsion from North Africa.

In recent years major development projects have taken place, particularly in the Antigone district of the city.

As a result Montpellier is now France's eight largest city. It currently has a population of around 250,000.

Montpellier also possesses a large student population. Sixty thousand students study at the city's  three universities. In fact Montpellier is France's fourth largest student town after Paris, Toulouse and Aix-en-Provence.

Montpellier also boasts one of the country's foremost art collections. The Musee Fabre was founded by the artist Francois-Xavier-Pascal Fabre in 1828.

The city also possesses its own international airport and high-speed train connection. It is possible to travel by train to Paris within 3 hours fifteen minutes and to Avignon within 35 minutes.

 

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Saint Peters  Porte du Peyrou  Pharmacy  Opera Comedie   Musee Fabre   Medical School   Jardin des plantes   Ecusson   Citadel   Antigone   Brief history