Siran (Hérault)
Siran Sira |
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region | Occitania | |
Department | Herault | |
Arrondissement | Beziers | |
Canton | Saint-Pons-de-Thomières | |
Community association | Minervois Saint-Ponais Orb-Jaur | |
Coordinates | 43 ° 19 ′ N , 2 ° 40 ′ E | |
height | 77-491 m | |
surface | 21.25 km 2 | |
Residents | 733 (January 1, 2017) | |
Population density | 34 inhabitants / km 2 | |
Post Code | 34210 | |
INSEE code | 34302 | |
![]() Siran - Saint-Baudile Church |
Siran ( Occitan : Sira ) is a southern French municipality with 733 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the cultural landscape of the Minervois in the Hérault department in the Occitania region .
location
The circular village ( Circulade ) Siran is at an altitude of about 100 meters above sea level. d. M. about 51 kilometers (driving distance) west of Béziers or a good 35 kilometers northeast of Carcassonne . It is almost 40 kilometers to the south-east to Narbonne . The municipality is part of the Haut-Languedoc Regional Nature Park . The old Cathar town of Minerve is about 13 kilometers to the northeast; On the way there you pass the also worth seeing places Cesseras and Azillanet .
Population development
year | 1962 | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2008 | 2017 |
Residents | 707 | 641 | 549 | 520 | 544 | 568 | 642 | 733 |
In the 19th century the place had over 1000 inhabitants at times. The phylloxera crisis and the mechanization of agriculture have since led to a population decline that only came to a standstill after 1975.
economy
In earlier times, the residents of the village lived largely on self-sufficiency from agriculture, with both grain and wine being grown. In addition, there was a little cattle breeding (pigs, chickens, etc.), but also retail trade and small crafts have shaped the place for centuries. Siran is part of the Minervois wine region , but sales of French wines have been falling since the 1990s. Tourism has also played a certain role in the municipality's economic life since the 1970s.
history
The formerly largely round ground plan of Siran may suggest a fortification ( castrum ) that existed in Celtic times ; on the other hand, the place could have been founded as a medieval circulade . A Gallo-Roman estate ( villa rustica ) stood not far from the former town of Centheilles . In the 10th century, the place was temporarily under the French crown. Nothing is known about the place's involvement in the Albigensian Crusades (1209–1229); The Hundred Years War (1337–1453) also seems to have passed Siran by without a trace. The parish was under the Archdiocese of Narbonne until February 18, 1318 , from then until the beginning of the French Revolution to the small diocese of Saint-Pons-de-Thomières , which was dissolved in 1801.
Attractions
- The late Gothic chapel Notre-Dame de Centeilles with her little bell tower dates from the 14th and 15th centuries and is located about three kilometers north of Siran; it was the parish church of Centeilles , which was finally abandoned during the years of the French Revolution . The special treasure of the church is a late Gothic fresco cycle with scenes from the New Testament inside: Root of Jesse , Annunciation , Resurrection etc .; also representations of St. Bruno and the Archangel Michael can be seen. The church has been designated as a monument historique since 1954 . Immediately to the south is the dolmen of Centeilles .
- The parish church ( Église Saint-Baudile ) is dedicated to St. Baudilius , a 4th century martyr who was very popular in the south of France, but especially in the north of Spain . The single-nave Gothic church with side chapels was badly damaged in the wars of religion in the 16th century and largely rebuilt in the 17th century after the preliminary end of the conflict. It has been recognized as a Monument historique since 1925 .
- The Château de Siran was built on medieval foundations in the 16th century; it now houses a hotel with a restaurant.
- In the municipality of Siran there are mostly only sparse remains of 16 dolmens and two menhirs from the time of the megalithic cultures . The comparatively well-preserved Dolmen des Fados is located about two kilometers to the east in the area of the neighboring municipality of Pépieux, which is well worth seeing .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Notre-Dame de Centheilles, Siran in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
- ↑ Église Saint-Baudile, Siran in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)