Roquedur

Roquedur Ròcadun
region	Occitania
Department	Gard
Arrondissement	Le Vigan
Canton	Le Vigan
Community association	Pays Viganais
Coordinates	43 ° 59 ′  N , 3 ° 41 ′  E Coordinates: 43 ° 59 ′  N , 3 ° 41 ′  E
height	165-710 m
surface	10.85 km 2
Residents	257 (January 1, 2017)
Population density	24 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code	30440
INSEE code	30220

Roquedur ( Occitan Ròcadun ) is a French commune with 257 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Gard department in the Occitanie region .

geography

The municipality of Roquedur lies on the southern edge of the Cevennes Mountains and is 46 kilometers north of the regional capital, Montpellier . It is part of the Cevennes National Park and the Hérault flows through it on the eastern edge . Their area is characterized in particular by forested ranges of hills and reaches a maximum height, whereas the valley of the Hérault in particular is significantly lower. Most of the residents live in the hill country, with the municipality being divided into the two villages of Roquedur-le-Haut and Roquedur-le-Bas . These are not fixed villages, but rather collections of small settlements and hamlets. The hamlet of Lacamp, which is separate from both localities, is also part of the municipality.

The neighboring municipalities of Roquedur are Saint-André-de-Majencoules in the north, Sumène in the northeast, Saint-Julien-de-la-Nef in the east, Saint-Bresson in the south and Le Vigan in the west and northwest.

Infrastructure

A regional road, the D999, runs through the eastern valley of the Hérault, which connects to Le Vigan in one direction and to Ganges in the other. There is also a connection to the major cities of Montpellier and Nîmes via the Ganges . After Le Vigan there is another route with the D291 running through the hill country.

History and culture

Today's Roquedur was first mentioned in 785 under the name Rocdun . The village was of little importance in the following centuries and at the end of the 14th century consisted of only two households. It was under the jurisdiction of the Viguerie of Le Vigan and Meyrueis until the French Revolution , while in ecclesiastical terms it belonged to the Diocese of Nîmes. The community was the long-standing residence of the playwright and actor Edmond Guiraud (1877-1961). From the 1970s onwards, it was the scene of a long-term study by a British-French research team, which investigated the disease leishmaniasis , for around twenty years .

The Protestant Church of Roquedur is part of the preserved local heritage; A peculiarity of the Cevennes region is that, unlike the rest of France, it has a considerable Protestant population. There is also a Catholic parish church called Saint-Pierre de la Clastre , which was rebuilt in 1688 after being destroyed in 1622.

Population development

year	1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006	2012
Residents	107	103	121	116	133	192	225	217

In 1793 the community had 350 inhabitants and by 1821 it had grown to the historic high of 433 inhabitants. Subsequently, the population remained at this level before a downward trend set in in the second half of the 19th century to 276 people in 1896. During the 1920s and 1930s in particular, the value fell even more sharply, so that in 1936 only 146 inhabitants were recorded. After a historic low had been reached in 1968 with 103 residents, there was, however, a clear trend reversal in the following decades with a significant increase. As a result, the population has leveled off again at over 200 people in the early 21st century.

Web links

Commons : Roquedur  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Mairie de Roquedur , annuaire-mairie.fr
2. ↑ ^{a b} Roquedur ( Memento of the original from November 17, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , cc-paysviganais.fr 
3. ^ Eugène Germer-Durand: Dictionnaire topographique du département du Gard , Impr. Impériale, 1868. p. 187
4. ↑ Roquedur - Notice communale , cassini.ehess.fr