Le Somail
Le Somail is a place in the Aude department in the south of France in the Occitanie region ; it belongs to the municipalities of Ginestas , Saint-Nazaire-d'Aude and Sallèles-d'Aude .
location
The approx. 15 m above sea level. d. M. is located about 15 kilometers northwest of Narbonne on the D607 road near the confluence of the river Cesse in the Aude and is crossed by the Canal du Midi . The houses south of the two streets leading to the arched canal bridge (see illustration) belong politically to Saint-Nazaire-d'Aude, those to the north to Ginestas, and the northernmost house on the eastern bank of the canal belongs to Sallèles-d'Aude.
Economical meaning
The transport of goods and people on the Canal du Midi is no longer important today. However, due to the emergence of water tourism with hotel ships, excursion boats, sport boats and houseboats, Le Somail has become an attractive place to visit.
history
During the construction of the Canal du Midi by Pierre-Paul Riquet in the 17th century, one of the section construction lines was in Le Somail. Thereafter, Le Somail became a stopover for the mail ships and served as a canal port for Narbonne for a century until the Canal de Jonction was built.
Some of the structures in Le Somail that still exist today date from this period:
- Stone bridge
- chapel
- Inn
- Warehouses
- Ice cellar
Culture and sights
- The old structures of Le Somail have been recognized as Monuments historiques since 1998 .
- In 1980, an antiquarian bookshop (fr: Librairie ancienne ) was set up in one of the old buildings , which today sells more than 50,000 books across all subject areas under the name Le Trouve Tout du Livre (see also web links).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hameau du Somail, Ginestas in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
Coordinates: 43 ° 16 ' N , 2 ° 54' E