Valflaunès
Valflaunès Valfaunés |
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region | Occitania | |
Department | Herault | |
Arrondissement | Lodève | |
Canton | Lodève | |
Community association | Grand Pic Saint Loup | |
Coordinates | 43 ° 48 ' N , 3 ° 52' E | |
height | 109-640 m | |
surface | 21.04 km 2 | |
Residents | 763 (January 1, 2017) | |
Population density | 36 inhabitants / km 2 | |
Post Code | 34270 | |
INSEE code | 34322 | |
Website | Valflaunès | |
Château de Viviourès |
Valflaunès ( Occitan : Valfaunés ) is a town in the south of France and a municipality with 763 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Hérault department in the Occitanie region .
location
The place Valflaunès lies at the foot of the Pic Saint-Loup or the Montagne d'Hortus at an altitude of approx. 150 m above sea level. d. About 28 km (driving distance) north of Montpellier . The city of Nîmes is about 50 km to the east.
Population development
year | 1800 | 1851 | 1901 | 1954 | 1975 | 1999 | 2012 | 2017 |
Residents | 133 | 312 | 412 | 266 | 250 | 655 | 707 | 763 |
As a result of the phylloxera crisis in viticulture and the increasing mechanization of agriculture , the number of inhabitants fell continuously in the 20th century to the lows of the 1950s to 1970s.
economy
For centuries, the inhabitants of the community lived on agriculture as a self-sufficient source (grain, wine, vegetables, cheese); only the city of Montpellier came into question as a market place for cheese products, salted meat, etc. because of its relative proximity . The place was also known in the area for its pottery. Viticulture is still important, but since the 1960s tourism has played an increasingly important role in the municipality's economic life in the form of holiday homes ( gîtes ).
history
Around 30,000 year old fossil finds of the Neanderthal man have been discovered in the municipality and in the vicinity . The first mention of the place name ( Val Fileneses ) derived from a property list ( cartulary ) of the year 923 of the Benediktinerabtei Aniane . The Romanesque church of St-Pierre was built around the year 1100 .
Attractions
- Of the church of St-Pierre , only the apse, structured by pilaster strips and provided with a round arch frieze ( bandes lombardes ), is visible in its original state; their roof is covered with stone shingles ( lauzes ). Large areas of the masonry made of roughly hewn stones are hidden under thick layers of plaster.
Surroundings
- About two kilometers north-west of the place near the D17 is the so-called Menhir de Juoilles ( 43 ° 49 '2.6 " N , 3 ° 51' 8.3" O ). It was originally supposed to serve as the cover plate of a dolmen, but broke into two parts during transport. The two parts were only put together in 1992 and erected not far from where they were found.
- The still imposing ruins of the Château de Viviourès (or Château de la Roquette ) are located about 4.5 kilometers southwest of the town on a ledge of the Montagne d'Hortus ( 43 ° 47 ′ 35 ″ N , 3 ° 49 ′ 8 ″ O ).