Clermont-l'Hérault

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Clermont-l'Hérault
Commune
View of Clermont-l'Hérault's City centre
Coat of arms
Location of Clermont-l'Hérault
Clermont-l'Hérault Show map of France Clermont-l'Hérault Show map of Occitanie
Coordinates: 43°37′41″N 3°25′59″E / 43.6281°N 3.4331°E / 43.6281; 3.4331
Country	France
Region	Occitania
Department	Hérault
Arrondissement	Lodève
Canton	Clermont-l'Hérault
Intercommunality	Clermontais
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Gérard Bessière[1]
Area 1	32.49 km2 (12.54 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	9,269
• Density	290/km2 (740/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	34079 /34800
Elevation	40–322 m (131–1,056 ft) (avg. 92 m or 302 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Clermont-l'Hérault (French pronunciation: [klɛʁmɔ̃ leʁo]; Occitan: Clarmont d'Erau) is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France.

Chief town of the Canton, Clermont-l'Hérault is located about 40 km west of Montpellier, halfway between the Mediterranean Sea to the south and the Cévennes National Park to the north.

La Lergue, Le Salagou, Ruisseau des Servières are the main rivers that cross the town.

The city enjoys a Mediterranean climate. The winter is mild, despite occasional frosts. Summer is hot. In autumn, Mediterranean episodes occur bringing intense and heavy rainfall.

The site of Clermont-l'Hérault has been inhabited since Protohistory: during the Iron Age (6th century BC), Clermont constitutes one of the main Oppida of the Celtic Mediterranean.

Recent archaeological excavations have demonstrated its importance during antiquity (INRAP, 2000s). There was then a main agglomeration of five to six hectares and a peripheral inhabited area of 12 hectares. The remains of a thermal establishment have been uncovered.

The town was several times taken and retaken in the religious wars of the 16th century.^[3] The city was formerly known as Clermont-Lodève. The manufacture of sheets was established at nearby Villeneuvette, or rather relaunched in 1667 by Colbert to develop the cloth industry in France, taking advantage of the waters of the Dourbie.

Election		Mayor	Party	Occupation
	1971	Marcel Vidal	PS	Winemaker Member of the Senate for Hérault
	1977
	1983
	1989
	1995
	2001	Alain Cazorla	PS
	2008
	2014	Salvador Ruiz	DVG	Teacher

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 4,888 —     1800 5,224 +0.95% 1806 5,694 +1.45% 1821 5,837 +0.17% 1831 6,199 +0.60% 1836 6,582 +1.21% 1841 6,294 −0.89% 1846 6,134 −0.51% 1851 6,180 +0.15% 1856 6,232 +0.17% 1861 6,405 +0.55% 1866 6,050 −1.13% 1872 5,870 −0.50% 1876 5,964 +0.40% 1881 5,450 −1.79% 1886 5,191 −0.97% 1891 5,079 −0.44% 1896 5,083 +0.02%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 5,280 +0.76% 1906 5,140 −0.54% 1911 5,177 +0.14% 1921 5,381 +0.39% 1926 5,616 +0.86% 1931 5,657 +0.15% 1936 5,426 −0.83% 1946 5,195 −0.43% 1954 5,314 +0.28% 1962 5,538 +0.52% 1968 6,209 +1.92% 1975 5,482 −1.76% 1982 5,926 +1.12% 1990 6,041 +0.24% 1999 6,532 +0.87% 2007 7,305 +1.41% 2012 8,221 +2.39% 2017 8,852 +1.49%
Source: EHESS[4] and INSEE (1968-2017)[5]

The town is built on the slope of a hill ("Pioch Castel") which is crowned by an ancient castle (Château des Guilhem) and skirted by the Rhonel, a tributary of the Lergue.^[3] It has a southern Gothic style chapel "Les Pénitents" (The Penitents) that has been recently restored. It is now a cultural centre. Also of interest is Saint Paul's church, begun in the 12th century, and finished in the 14th century.

Close by is the large man-made Lac du Salagou.

Clermont-l'Hérault is twinned with:

• San Gimignano
• Patchway
• Gauting

• Communes of the Hérault department

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Clermont-l'Herault". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 499.

• General Information on the town in English