Laure-Minervois

Laure- Minervois ( Occitan: Lauran ) is a southern French village with 1061 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2011 ) in the Minervois in the Aude department ( Languedoc- Roussillon ).

Location

Laure- Minervois is situated at a height of about 83 meters above sea level. inst and is about 18 km ( driving distance ) north-east of Carcassonne. The neighboring towns Rieux- Minervois and Caunes-Minervois are further 8 kilometers north-east and 9 kilometers north.

Demographics

Economy

As in many parts of the Minervois, the viticulture plays (see Minervois (AOC )), in Laure an important economic role. There are several wineries ( château or domaines ), which also hold wine tastings ( dégustations ). From spring to late autumn tourism contributes in many ways ( Apartment rentals, etc.) to the revenues of the congregation. Even the smaller craft and services of any kind benefit.

History

Although the area was probably inhabited in the Roman and Gallo- Roman times, the name Lauranus is first mentioned in 875. At this time included a large part of the lands to the abbeys of Lagrasse and Caunes. In the High Middle Ages, then - in time of feudalism - were the lands in the possession of worldly nobility about: In Laure these were for a long time the Seigneuers de Lauran, the faithful stood in the time of the Albigensian wars on the King and the Church of page.

Attractions

Several attractions of the place and its surroundings are classified as a monument historique:

• In Minervois, there are surprisingly many testimonies from the time of the megalithic culture (ca. 3000-4000 BC), the gallery grave Allée couverte of Saint -Eugène at Domaine de Russol one of the largest. The cover stones of the passage tomb are been lost over the millennia. The gallery grave is classified as a Monument historique since 1931.
• In the environment esp. in the west of the village, there are approximately 30 capitelles or get cabanes - built stone huts in dry masonry technique. Although their origin certainly goes far back, most only about 200 to 500 years old. For walkers there are several marked paths ( sentiers of Capitelles ).
• From the medieval fortifications several towers are still standing: the crenellated Tour du Portail Neuf and the Tour du Bas -free today battlements. Addition, it is also the Tour de Mézolieux worth mentioning. Already since the 1920s are partly historiques on the list of the monument.

• The large one-nave parish church of St- Jean -Baptiste with a nearly 16-meter wide main nave and side chapels - built in the first half of the 14th century - recognizable by its Gothic forms. The nave is lit by a Western Rose and on the windows of the side chapels. The church is recognized as a monument historique since 2006.
• A scale cottage from the late 19th century has also been preserved; it is very close to the church. Here the weights and balances of the dealers have been reviewed and are thus calibrated so to speak, on market days; also could be weighed here animals and heavy loads.
• In the village a Baroque fountain ( Fontaine du Ravelin ) communicates with a beautifully curved Maßwerkkrone.