Contact
Address
Lodève
Mairie
7 place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville
34700 Lodève
GPS coordinates : 43.7322202 / 3.3177521
Villages
Lodève
City of Art and History nestled between hills and rivers, Lodève is a confidential and cosmopolitan town, entrance to the Larzac and rich in a millennial heritage.
Summary
Gateway city between the Mediterranean plain and the great causses, Lodève is a historic, spiritual, and administrative center. Located at the confluence of the Lergue and Soulondres rivers, the town is established in a valley, surrounded by a setting of hills leading to the vast limestone landscapes of southern Larzac. Frequented by humans since Prehistory, the town possesses a confidential and cosmopolitan character. Labelled as a "City of Art and History" since 2006, the municipality can be discovered alone or accompanied by a guide. Find numerous resources at the Office of Tourism of Lodèvois and Larzac to explore the town around different themes.
What to see / what to do
- The episcopal palace
- The war memorial by sculptor Paul Dardé
- The pretty bridges of Lodève (Montifort bridge)
- The beautiful doors and knockers of the former private hotels and master houses.
- Do your gourmet shopping at the large Lodève market (every Saturday morning)
- Shopping session in the artisan-creator shops and with local producers
- Hiking on the Grézac following the trails of the ancestors of dinosaurs
- Visit the Lodève Museum and dive into the local history of the territory
- Set off to discover the Lodèvois heritage with a treasure hunt for children (following in the footsteps of Little Thumb) or with the self-guided visit on IZI.travel
A bit of History
Located on the route of an important trade road, Luteva (Lodève) experienced its first boom during the Gallo-Roman era, but it was mainly in the Middle Ages that the plan of the town was developed. The episcopal city is organized around the cathedral, the trading and popular town develops at the confluence of the Lergue and Soulondre, and the suburbs emerged in the 13th and 14th centuries. The remains of the fortifications testify to the troubled times at the end of the Middle Ages and during the Wars of Religion.
The town rebounded in the aftermath of these conflicts thanks to the textile industry. In 1726, Cardinal de Fleury, originally from Lodève, then Prime Minister of Louis XV, granted the town the monopoly on supplying uniforms for the royal infantry troops. The private hotels still attest to the city’s prosperity. A textile capital for two hundred years, its activity peaked in the mid-19th century before facing several crises until the last factory closed in 1960. The establishment of the COGEMA factory in a neighboring town between 1975 and 1997 would be the last industrial resurgence for Lodève in the 20th century.
