The history of Monte pestelario is a story of
twists and turns that highlights the two essential characteristics of this
fascinating city: ambition and intelligence. A former trading post for
spices, place of pilgrimage and centre of learning in the fields of
medicine and law, Protestant fief then Royal capital of the Languedoc
region, Montpellier's strategic position in the heart of the Mediterranean
basin has ensured it constant prosperity. Now the prefecture of the
Hérault département, it's a city that never ceases to amaze!
From Modest Beginnings...
Montpellier is very much a young upstart of a city when compared to its
venerable roman neighbours of Nîmes and Narbonne. The first settlement
dates back to the late 10th century and passed into the hands of the
Guilhem family who remained the city's rulers until the early 13th
century. Situated south of the roman road, the via Domitia, and close to
well-travelled salt and pilgrim routes, the early settlement grew rapidly
in the 11th century as it became a favoured halt for pilgrims. At the end
of the 12th century the now flourishing city was enclosed by city walls of
which the Tour des Pins and the Tour de la Babotte are still visible
remnants.
...to a Medieval Metropolis
A prosperous trading centre between Northern Europe, Spain and the
Mediterranean, the 13th century saw the city reach something of an apogee
as it passed under the tutelage of the King of Aragon, whose kingdom
extended across what is now Northern Spain and Catalonia, and subsequently
the Kings of Majorca. Reputed as a centre of learning particularly open to
Jewish and Islamic thought, the established Schools of Medicine and Law
received recognition as a University by Pope Nicholas IV in 1289. Sold to
the kingdom of France in 1349, Montpellier was for a while considered the
second most important city in the kingdom. However, the latter part of the
century was a sombre one, during which successive plagues accounted for
the death of over a third of the population. Nevertheless, by the 15th
century the city had recovered economically, notably through the
flourishing of the nearby port of Lattes and the mercantile genius of the
royal treasurer Jacques Coeur, whose name is still honoured by the city.
A Protestant Stronghold during the Wars of Religion...
During the 1530's, both the astronomer Nostradamus, famous for his
prophecies, and the writer, priest and bon vivant Rabelais studied
medicine at Montpellier. The faculty later benefited from the
establishment of France's oldest botanical garden Jardin des Plantes
during the reign of France's king Henri IV. In 1553, the city gained a
cathedral as the Bishopric was permanently transferred from Maguelone,
whose abandoned abbey can still be seen overlooking the Mediterranean less
than 10 miles from Montpellier. The Protestant Reformation, however,
gained many converts in Montpellier as elsewhere in the south of France.
As a major Huguenot (as French Protestants had come to be called)
stronghold, Montpellier possessed one of the most beautiful Protestant
churches of its time, but the subsequent Wars of Religion destroyed all
religious edifices within the city walls except for the fortress-like
Cathedral St Pierre. The Edict of Nantes of 1598, which recognized the
right of Protestants to worship and granted them other basic freedoms in
certain designated towns and cities, resulted in a brief period of
relative calm, but conflict once more erupted twenty years later in the
last of the religious wars. Finally in 1622 the king of France Louis XIII
oversaw the siege of the rebellious Protestant city, which resisted two
months of bombardment before a negotiated settlement was reached. Royal
rule was once again established and the return of Catholic domination of
the city was finally ensured by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in
1685.
...becomes the Royal Capital of the Languedoc
Many features of the current city centre have their origin in the Wars of
Religion and the subsequent 17th and 18th century renovations that
transformed the city. Many squares such as the Place Jean Jaures and Place
Chabanneau were formed from destroyed churches, while the citadel built
following the siege of 1622 was to guarantee the loyalty of the city to
the crown rather than to ensure its protection. Montpellier was subject to
further expressions glorifying the monarch such as the Arc de Triomphe as
it became the royal capital of the Languedoc and the accompanying nobility
were responsible for many of the most elaborate hôtels and distinctive
architecture of the historic centre. Other landmarks such as the Hôtel St
Côme and the Promenade du Peyrou, not to mention the Place de la Comédie
all date from this epoch and still shape the life of the city.
A Provincial City built on Wine...
The development of winemaking in the region during the 19th century helped
fuel the economy of the city and led to another wave of urban renovation
and renewal. While some of the grandiose projects never reached
completion, many are still major features of the city, whether it be the
distinctive spire of the Carré St Anne, the incomplete St Roch or the
Palais de Justice. Boom was followed by bust as the outbreak of the fungal
disease Phylloxera, in the 1890's destroyed over a third of the vines and
the expanding vineyards in Algeria rendered the vineyards of Languedoc
uneconomical.
...seeks to become a New Metropolis
A unassuming provincial city for most of the 20th century, Montpellier has
been transformed into a city of expansive ambitions and a growth rate to
match. In the 1960's the population rose by over a third as ex-patriots
and immigrants arrived from Algeria. Over the past twenty years,
Montpellier has continued to grow under the uncompromising vision of the
socialist mayor, Georges Frêche, and the city once ranked 25th is
currently the 8th largest city in France. This rapid growth has been
matched by increasingly lavish and distinctive projects, from the entirely
new, neo-classical district of Antigone and the developments along the
river Lez, to the rejuvenation of the city centre and the return of the
tramway to the city streets. An administrative centre, doted with a major
research, university and medical facilities, Montpellier seems determined
to once again becoming an intellectual, cultural and technological centre
of Europe and the Mediterranean.
J. Mosedale
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