Saint-Jean-de-Fos

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Saint-Jean-de-Fos
Sant Joan de Fòrcs
Coat of arms of Saint-Jean-de-Fos
Saint-Jean-de-Fos (France)
Saint-Jean-de-Fos
region Occitania
Department Herault
Arrondissement Lodève
Canton Gignac
Community association Vallée de l'Hérault
Coordinates 43 ° 42 '  N , 3 ° 33'  E Coordinates: 43 ° 42 '  N , 3 ° 33'  E
height 30-528 m
surface 14.19 km 2
Residents 1,696 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 120 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 34150
INSEE code 34267
Website www.mairie-saintjeandefos.fr

Saint-Jean-de-Fos - town view

Saint-Jean-de-Fos ( Occitan : Sant Joan de Fòrcs ) is a town in the south of France and a municipality with 1696 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Hérault department in the Occitanie region .

location

The circular village ( Circulade ) Saint-Jean-de-Fos on the flank of a hill at a height of about 100 meters above sea level. d. M. about 61 kilometers (driving distance) northeast of Béziers and about 36 kilometers northwest of Montpellier . The Hérault River flows through the municipality from north to south. The historically significant places Aniane and Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert are within a radius of around three kilometers.

Population development

year 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2006 2017
Residents 939 861 905 1011 1160 1422 1696

Already in the first half of the 19th century the population of the community fluctuated between about 1,350 and 1,550; after that, due to the phylloxera crisis and the progressive mechanization of agriculture , it sank to the lows of the 1970s. Since the 1990s there has been constant population growth, which is still ongoing due to the relative proximity to the city of Montpellier, the touristy surroundings and the significantly lower property prices in the country.

economy

In earlier times, the residents of the village lived largely on self-sufficiency from agriculture, growing not only grain, but also wine and olives. In addition, they ran a little cattle breeding (sheep, pigs, chickens, etc.). At the end of the Middle Ages the place developed into an important pottery center. As in many places in Languedoc , viticulture dominated in the 19th century; the local wine cooperative markets the wine produced here through the appellations of Languedoc , Pays d'Herault , Pays d'Oc and Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert . Because of the sales crisis for French wine, however, only about half of the agricultural land is still viniculture; on the other half grain ( wheat , maize ) and sunflowers are grown again; The cultivation of olive trees is also important. Since the 1960s, tourism has also played an increasing role in the income of residents and the community treasury.

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Saint-Jean-de-Fos

history

The name of the old place Litenis is mentioned for the first time in 804. The bridge ( Pont du Diable ) over the Hérault gorge, constructed around the year 1000 (perhaps even earlier), led to the relocation of the place about two kilometers north to the exit of the Hérault gorge and promoted the further development of the place, the was created and fortified in the form of a circulade in the High Middle Ages .

Attractions

Grotte de Clamouse
Pont du Diable
  • The old town center of Saint-Jean-de-Fos belongs to the type of Circulades - round villages that were built around a core consisting of a castle and / or church for defense reasons and whose outer house front served as a replacement for an expensive city wall.
  • The local parish church ( Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste ) was built in the 11th century; the fortified tower dates from the 12th century. In the 16th century the church building was expanded to three naves; in the nave of the remained transverse arches subjected Roman barrel vault obtained which were the side aisles with vaults provided. The apse shows a simple dome vault . Church construction has been recognized as a monument historique since 2013 .
  • There is a pottery museum in the village and the Atelier de potier Albe-Sabadel, recognized as a monument historique in 2005 .
  • The Grotte de Clamouse , one of the most imposing stalactite caves in France, is only about a kilometer north of the village - just a short distance from the Gorges de l'Hérault .
  • The Pont du Diable , only about 250 meters away, was mentioned for the first time in 873, but has since been repeatedly repaired and changed. The bridge was an important river crossing on a branch line of the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela . It has been closed to traffic since 1932 and is only accessible to pedestrians. In 1935 the bridge was recognized as a monument historique .
  • The small, single-nave Romanesque church of Saint-Géniès de Litenis is located about two kilometers south of the village. The portal, which protrudes slightly from the south wall and is raised by a steep pent roof, is pretty.

Web links

Commons : Saint-Jean-de-Fos  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Atelier de potier Albe-Sabadel, Saint-Jean-de-Fos in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
  2. ^ Pont du Diable, Saint-Jean-de-Fos in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)