Lunel

Lunel ( Occitan Lunèu ) is a commune with 25,565 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2011 ) in the department of Hérault in the Languedoc- Roussillon region; it belongs to the district of Montpellier and the canton of Lunel.

Geography

Lunel is located 21 km east of Montpellier and 28 kilometers southwest of Nîmes on the west bank of the Vidourle. The area consists mainly of an alluvial plain between the levels of Mauguio and the Petite Camargue.

History

In the year 888 Lunel was raised to the barony for 13 villages. At the turn of the millennium it was one Bernard d' Anduze, baron de Sauve, who ceded Gaucelm, Lord of Lunel. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Jewish community flourished from Lunel which produced numerous scholars.

1632, after the Peace of Alès, the fortifications were demolished. A century later, in 1728, began to Lunel by a canal to the sea.

Demographics

From 1962, only residents with a primary residence

Personalities

• Jean -Antoine Bérard (* 1710, † 1772), opera singer and voice teacher
• Louis Feuillade (* 1873, † 1925), Film Director
• Jacques Rouché (* 1862, † 1957), director of the Paris Opera