Lodève, Hérault Département, Occitanie, France

🇫🇷 Lodève is a commune in the Hérault département in the Occitanie region in southern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. The derivation of the city's name is from Gaulish Luteva, composed of lut-, swamp, mud + suffix -eva. It might therefore translate as the muddy place or the swamp city. This mud could be in fact this sort of clay, called argillite, which was use during ancient history to produce pottery.

Geography Lodève lies where the coastal plain rises up to the Larzac plateau, 54 km (34 mi) from Montpellier, where the river Lergue and the smaller river Soulondre meet. Lodève is surrounded by green hills and vineyards and lies only 8 km (5.0 mi) from the large man-made Lac du Salagou.

History Lodève started as the capital of a tribe of the Volcae, the Lutevani, before becoming the Roman city Luteva (also known as Forum Neronis). The town was a stopping point on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela via the Arles road. From the 5th century until the French Revolution, it was the seat of the Bishops of Lodève. It was also a centre for textile production under Louis XV and was home to one of only two royal manufactories for tapestry, the other being the one of the Gobelins in Paris.

More recently, the area was the centre of a firm resistance against the Nazi occupation during the Second World War.

Sights • Lodève Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Fulcran de Lodève), parts of which date from the sixth century. • Museum Fleury (temporary art exhibitions (mainly paintings) and a permanent archaeological collection). • Halle Dardé, dedicated to local sculptor Paul Dardé. • L'Atelier national du tapis de Lodève, the French state carpet-making workshop (visits arranged by Tourist Office, Lodève).

In the vicinity: • Cave: Grotte de Labeil. • Saint-Michel de Grandmont Priory and its dolmen. • Lerab Ling: Buddhist Temple in traditional Tibetan form.

Culture Throughout the year, the town hosts a programme of cultural and sporting events, as well as all sorts of markets. In recent years, the Museum Art Gallery has gained national acclaim for its major art exhibitions.

The "Voix de la Méditerranée" poetry festival, established in 1998, takes place every July for around 9 days, and involves poets, musicians and writers from many different countries on the Mediterranean.

The annual "Fête de St. Fulcran", the patron saint of the town, takes place in May and includes the procession of the saint's relics and a funfair.

Population Lodève has a fairly large Algerian (see pied noir, harki) population, the first generation of which fought for the French and were housed here after the Algerian Civil War.

Transport The town lies on the A75 autoroute about 30 minutes south of the new Millau viaduct, the highest bridge in the world.

Economy The town houses a famous carpet-manufacturing company, part of the national Savonnerie, which once supplied carpets to the French royal family, and still today produces hand-made carpets for State buildings.

Viticulture, focussed on the Carignan grape variety, is a major industry. The climate is also favourable for fruit production, and the region's peaches, apricots, melons and tomatoes are prized.