Biterrois

The Biterrois is the name of the area which surrounds the town of Béziers, in the department of Herault. It is about an area primarily Viticole of the west héraultais.

The problem of the limits of the Biterrois

The Biterrois is traditionally opposed to Montpelliérais, giving birth to an opposition between the West and Is department, between Béziers, capital world of the wine to the image now exceeded, and Montpellier, regional capital, with the young and modern image. This difference was expressed also a long time on the level of the sporting practices: Biterrois, ground of Rugby dominated by ASB, and is department where football is more largely practiced. In the spirits especially, one opposes Biterrois which seems forsaken with the profit of Montpellier, but in economic reality (in particular in term of people registered to the RMI), the Biterrois is definitely poorer than Montpelliérais which enjoys the dynamism of the capital of the area. Between these two geographical entities, the Herault river plays the part of border roughly.

In the east, this space is bordered by the Mediterranean, between the mouths of two rivers: the Herault and the Aude. The Littoral is sandy here, the low coast, where the old ponds were gradually drained since the Middle Ages. family and popular Seaside resorts were built on this littoral ignored a long time by the local populations. They are Valras-Beach, the station of the Biterrois, but also of Tarnais come from Castres or Mazamet, but also Sérignan-Beach (that the Biterrois call " familiarly; Maïre") and Portiragnes-Beach , often called " Redoute" by the autochtones. More in the east, Farinette-Beach , on the commune of Vias mark borders of the Biterrois in the same way as the Grau de Vendres and its beaches popular, in the south.

Towards the west, the limits of the Biterrois are fuzzier to define. Various criteria can be retained: the diffusion area of the Biterrois edition of the free Midday , regional newspaper, which includes then Bédarieux and Saint-Pons as well as the wine slopes and the plain; the zone of influence of the town of Béziers in term of pendular migrations related to work or in term of commercial attractivity. In its largest meaning, the Biterrois then covers a territory which extends since the Mediterranean until the mounts from Sommail and the Espinouse dominated by the mount Caroux , the “lengthened woman” of the Biterrois. The territory thus delimited is sprinkled by the Orb and its affluents, and the Libron in the east. Space is covered with Garrigue in its septentrional part, but especially with vines, the vineyard of the Biterrois born at the 19th century having conquered the plain with the foot of the slopes, forming a true “sea of vines”. Currently, the Biterrois is touched by a wine serious attack.

Many villages of the Biterrois bear the name of Béziers: thus Murviel-lès-Béziers, Thézan-lès-Béziers, Villeneuve-the-Béziers, Cazouls-lès-Béziers and Lieuran-lès-Béziers.

History

Prehistory

old Traces of human presence: many Dolmen S.
Necropolis of Puisserguier, of before our era.
Oppidum of Ensérune.

Antiquity

Foundation of the colony of Béziers by the Romans.

The Middle Ages

the town of Béziers is girdled by ramparts.
1209: Bag of Béziers, at the time of the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathares.
Construction of Circulade S.

Modern time

Digging of the Channel of the South.

S

Starting from second half of the 19th century, High Languedoc, and more particularly Biterrois and Béziers, autoproclamée " World capital of the vin" , grows rich quickly thanks to the development by monoculture by the vine. Great fortunes are formed. Land great landowners, resulting from industry, finance or liberal professions, have immense fields of several tens of hectares. Béziers is certainly the city which profits the most economic advancement related to the vine growing.
the countryside covers " folies" , of superb rich person owners residences, competing of architectural audacity (or of bad taste).
the city is embellished during prestigious alteration work: the alleys Paul-Riquet, superb esplanade become the heart of the life town, decorated in 1838 of the statue of Paul Riquet work of David of Angers, and planted plane trees in 1848; a theater is inaugurated in 1844, in a style “with Italian”; the Neuf bridge in 1846 spans Orb; in 1870, a superb public garden is created by the Buhler landscape designer, that the Biterrois call the Plateau of the poets, with many statues carved by Injalbert; one bores beautiful avenues in the center town where modern markets are built. Of new arenas are built in 1897, on Pech de Valras. They accommodate imposing lyric spectacles programmed by Castelbon de Beauxhottes (Prométhée, Déjanire, Heretics…) and of original creations of Camille Saint-Saëns, Gabriel Fauré or Déodat de Séverac which created the Héliogabale opera in Béziers. Intellectuals are the hosts of the city, in particular Frederic Mistral in 1864 and 1902. Béziers diffuses the image of a prosperous and artistic city.
1870: invasion of the Phylloxéra.
1907: revolt of the vine growers.

Current dynamism

The Biterrois forms a basin of 200.000 inhabitants approximately centered on the town of Béziers. The city just like knows since 2002 an important increase in population the cities and villages in its periphery which gain inhabitants. The process of Périurbanisation gives birth to from many allotments and transform the old wine villages into “dormitory towns”: Montady, Sérignan, Boujan-on-Libron, Villeneuve-the-Béziers, Sauvian, inter alia, illustrates these changes started at the end of the Seventies.

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