Montpellier

Industrial city and administrative centre of the département of Hérault and of the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France; population (1999) 225,500. It is situated on the River Lez 130 km/80 mi northwest of Marseille. Industries include electronics, medical research, engineering, textiles, and food processing, and there is a trade in wine and brandy. It is the birthplace of the philosopher Auguste Comte.

Modern development

Architecture and culture Montpellier is irregularly built, with narrow, steep streets and many 17th-18th-century houses. There is a 14th-century cathedral, a university (1220) noted for its medical school, and a botanic garden established in the reign of Henry IV. The terraced Promenade du Peyrou has a triumphal arch and a notable fountain. The museum has a good collection of paintings.

History Montpellier developed in the 10th century as a trading centre on the spice route from the Near East. Once a possession of the counts of Toulouse, Montpellier passed in the 13th century to the kingdom of Majorca, and in 1349 to France. At the time of the Reformation many of the inhabitants became Protestants, and the town was besieged for eight months by Louis XIII in 1622 during the revolt of the duc de Rohan.