Bédarieux

Statue of Ferdinand Fabre

Coat of arms

Bédarieux

Location within Occitanie region

Bédarieux

Coordinates: 43°37′01″N 3°09′35″E / 43.6169°N 3.1597°ECoordinates: 43°37′01″N 3°09′35″E / 43.6169°N 3.1597°E

Country

Government

• Mayor (2008–2014)

Antoine Martinez

Area¹

27.82 km² (10.74 sq mi)

Population (2008)²

6,637

• Density

240/km² (620/sq mi)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

INSEE/Postal code

34028 /34600

Elevation

184–520 m (604–1,706 ft)
(avg. 196 m or 643 ft)

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

²Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Bédarieux, (Occitan: Bedarius) is a commune in the Hérault department in the region of Occitanie in southern France.

The inhabitants are called Bédariciens.

Bédarieux is 56 km (35 mi) west of Montpellier and 30 km (19 mi) north of Béziers. The commune is in the Orb valley, the river flowing north-south into Bédarieux and east-west downstream.

The Saint-Nazaire de Lodéran chapel (now disappeared) was mentioned in 1153.

Bédarieux was at one time a notable manufacturing centre. Its cloth-weaving industry, carried on under a special royal privilege from the end of the 17th century to the French Revolution, employed in 1789 as many as 5,000 workmen, while some thousand more were occupied in wool and cotton spinning, etc. In spite of the introduction of modern machinery from England, the industries of the place declined, mainly owing to the loss of the trade with the Levant; but in the late 19th century they somewhat revived, owing partly to the opening up of coal mines in the neighbourhood.

Bédarieux is twinned with:

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Wikipedia