Sorbs

Sorbs is a common French, located in the department of the Herault and the area Languedoc-Roussillon.

Geography

History

Since more than 4.000 years…

Approximately 5.000 years ago, the first " paysans" are installed on causses and the garrigues. The natural shelters of the sometimes arranged rocks, the many caves with furniture, their burials under dolmens still mark out the landscape. Shepherds, they draw the essence of their resources from their herds of sheep and goats. They start to clear the immense forest covering this area then, build dry stone enclosures, houses and set up menhirs whose significance remains enigmatic. " drailles" , ways borrowed by the herds transhumant of the garrigues towards causses, probably go back to these moved back times.

To collect and store rainwater, to protect its animals from the bad weather, to clear of undergrowth (the boxwood is used as litter with the animals), to delimit the pastures and to put in culture the best grounds led the peasants of then to transform causses and garrigues, in a slow and progressive way.

The Roman epoch

One evokes a legendary battle, delivered by the autochtones against the Roman invader, event whose no vestige was found, to explain the Alajou toponym. The victorious Romans would have set up a furnace bridge with Jupiter, Ara Jovis, whose with time name would have become Alajou. This toponym indicates part of the plate, around Caylar, and in particular the commune of Saint-Michel of Alajou. If this explanation were commonly allowed by the scholars of the end of the XIX° century and the beginning of the XX°, such as G. Combarnous, modern toponymy (Hamlin) this origin did not retain which, today, is still to define. Nevertheless so of great events randomly did not mark the romanisation of this part of the plate of many lucky finds, as much dependant than with the systematic prospection, accredit the ancient occupation of this zone (ceramic, vestiges of constructions, probable villae).

The Middle Ages…

Today the old churches were abandoned, of new more roomy buildings rose in the center of the dwellings.

One finds trace of the church of SORBS into 804, it seems that is one of the first of the area (it is as on this date as one locates the foundation of the abbey of Gellone-St Guilhem the desert), since that of BANKS is mentioned only into 975, the greatest number of the churches of the canton being mentioned about the year 1000. It remains like single vestige of this church a Romance vault in the wall of the communal lodging with dimensions cemetery.

SORBS is mentioned like villa with the IX°, X° and XI° centuries.

After being itself called in turn: Villa Sorb (804), Villa Sorcianicum (996), again Villa Sorb (1032), Sorts (1625), Sorbs will find its name final only about the XVIIe century (1688).

Templiers

In 1247 the hamlet of Old City is mentioned in the files of holy Eulalie and of the templiers are installed with the Farmhouse of Vilaveilla.

The Castle

This construction of the XVIIe century offers a specimen rather curious about the architecture of this time and it is one of most interesting canton. The frontage is flanked of two towers connected by a gallery. One penetrates initially in a court giving access to the various parts of rez-of roadway. On the door an escutcheon.

Even Visigoths…?

In August 1858, of the country poor of the village of Gadamur, close to Tolède, discovered by chance, a pit containing several gold crowns (seven large and fourteen smaller), decorated with invaluable stones and a certain number of rare objects. A French residing in Spain succeeds in acquiring the treasure in block and sold it with the government of Napoleon III. This treasure entered thereafter with the Museum of Cluny.

Which was the origin of this deposit? The names which one could read on each crown showed that they had belonged individually to kings Visigoths, and it is probable that they had been hidden at the time of the catch of Tolède by the Arabs into 711. At the request of Free the government of the marshal Pétain restored most of this treasure in Spain. Remained only some secondary jewels and a crown known under the name of " crown of Sonica ".

One can read there indeed, in the hollow of a small cross this mention:

“IN DEI HAPPY OFFERET SONNICA MARIE IN SORBACES NOMINATES. ”

What can result in " Offered in the name of God by Sainte Sonnica Marie de Sorbaces ". This inscription always diverted the specialists. She forever made it possible to identify the owner of this crown as that was the case for the others. If this name of SONNICA designates a male character well, it does not correspond to any king or prince Visigoth.

Another mystery that of this designation: " HAPPY MARIE IN SORBACES ". If the expression Sainte Marie can indicate the term of a church, the word Sorbaces resists interpretation more. Hardly can one translate it by sorb or cormier. It is in vain that one tried to make correspond this name of sorb with that of a place of the surroundings of Tolède.

In its book the Gothic Mystery, Gerard de Sède made a proposal:

" In France, in the department of Herault, exists a very old village located on the plate of Larzac, above a ravine which surpomble the small river of Virenque. However, which is the name of this village: SORBS!

Already mentioned in the charters in year 800, it is very possible that the mysterious crown of Sonnica was devoted in this place. After all, with the Aude and Gard, Herault belongs to this Septimanie which the Visigoths preserved until they were évincés by the Francs in VIIe century. "

Administration

Demography

Places and monuments

Located at the southernmost borders of Larzac, the village of SORBS is limited to North by the deep throats of the bed of Virenque. Local geology, the intervention of the man strewed the territory with the commune of multiple curiosities. But for the curious one and in love one with nature fauna and the flora presents many attractions.

" Holes… " If one can note the presence of prehistoric caves (the rock of Bouissas and cave/burial in Rouquet), so of many pits open here or there with flower of ground (as with the Farmhouse Vernet), the presence of the “sotchs” is immediately remarkable with the eyes of the Sunday stroller. A sotch is a circular of small diameter but particularly major depression in the shape of funnel. Its formation results from filling from a swallow-hole or racking of clays clogging the bottom of a doline. Most remarkable of the three sotchs is the sotch oval Parade of form 200 m depth length and 45 m, with dissymmetrical slopes precipice covered with rock and timbered blocks. The sotch of Robert is practically circular of a diameter of 200 m and a depth of 30 Mr. the soft inclined slopes surmounted by a rock slope are covered with moors with Buis (Buxus sempervirens). The sotch of Fageolle, is circular of a diameter of 100 m but major of 5 m only.

" Levées" stones; The presence of the man since the Neolithic era explains the presence of the dolmens to the No Larquet, with the hamlet of Latude, Espérelle and the brook of Mourgues. Just like that of menhirs to the collar of Médigout and the tumulus of Boissonnade.

Civil architecture SORBS can be enorgueillir to have two castles, the first, that of the hamlet of Latude dates from the XVI° century, the second distant one of approximately 500 meters of the hamlet of the Farmhouse is XIV°, it acts of a quadrilateral with 4 turns of angle, it includes/understands a staircase rebirth and a door with armorié escutcheon. This castle, classified historic building, is in the course of restoration and will be able to be visited.

Crowned Architecture The current Church goes back to 1830, but it is necessary to note on the one hand the Vault of Latude of the XVI° century with its barrel vault of form elliptic and on the other hand the vestiges of the old Church of Sorbs, announced to the beginning of the IX° century, whose apse misses but whose door in semicircular arch remains in the wall of the cemetery.

Crosses (according to a study of Hyacinthe Red, priest of SORBS at the beginning of the XX° century)

The village of SORBS comprised at the time of this study 7 crosses, one of it " the Cross of Combelle" , out of wood, placed formerly at the end of the village opposite Causse and close to the ravines to Virenque does not exist any more. There thus remain still 6 crosses, of which most remarkable are that of the Farmhouse and that of the castle. The others, that of Latude, the Church, the cemetery (set up in 1878), that of City-Old woman are of only one anecdotic interest.

The Cross of the Farmhouse: This cross placed formerly in front of the Church is now in the center of the village. It is oldest. It is about a granite monolith of octagonal form 2 meters height and 54 centimetres turn. On this pillar puts back a cross of 1 meter height whose brace measures 60 cm. of length, the center is decorated by it of a beautiful rosette in relief of 10 cm. of top. The base in which the cross is embedded is made of an antique grinds mill of 30 centimetres height 3m75 of circumference and. This monument is of very severe aspect and without Christ. Only the inscription placed on the brace gives a date and the name of the priest of the time: 1630 I.GAZEL. P.

The Cross of the Castle: This cross, true masterpiece set up at the end of the reign of Louis XIV (1717), registered with the Historic buildings, is placed at a crossroads close to the castle. The multiple inscriptions which one can raise on this cross would ask for the study of a scholar as for their contents and at their disposal.

Fauna, Flora

The territory of the commune is limited to North by the canyon of tributary Virenque of the Screw. The throats of these two rivers form a deep notch, true canyon, within the vast ones extended from arid plates which are the causse of Larzac in the south and the causses of Blandas and Campestre in north.

Along a very sinuous layout a length of 30 km, the rivers dug impressive throats overhung by cliffs limestones verticals of several hundred meters. On average, the valley does not exceed 800 m broad.

The slopes are covered by beautiful coppices of holm oaks (Quercus ilex) or white oaks (Quercus humilis) with punctually some afforestations in black pines (Pinus will nigra). The whole of the valley where follow one another impressive cliffs, circuses and throats, is of landscape interest of very first order.

With that a biological interest quite as exceptional is added.

Indeed, the cliffs, in particular on the not very sunny and wet northern slope, shelter a rare flora in Mediterranean medium of which a carnivorous species, pushing normally in mountain medium; the throats of the Screw constitute its southernmost station. In addition, the rock escarpments are a place of nesting for many species of rupestral birds of which some rare and are very threatened on the unit of the territory and even on the European level. Among 70 species of birds listed to date, one notices many rupestral species rare such:

the Golden eagle ( Aquila chrysaetos ): 3 of the 15 couples of the south of the Solid mass-Exchange nest in cliffs of the throats of the Screw;

the Eagle of Bonelli ( Hieraetus fasciatus ): of which a couple niche on the territory of SORBS;

the Owl large-duke ( Bubo bubo ): from 5 to 10 couples;

Crave with red nozzle ( Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax ): several colonies are installed in cliffs;

the large Corbel ( Corvus corax ): more than 5 couples;

the Trip hammer with white belly ( Apus Melba ) and the blue Blackbird ( Monticola solitarius );

Tichodrome (Tichodroma muraria) and alpine Accenteur (Prunella collaris): in wintering.

This site was at one time occupied by the Vulture percnoptère (Neophron percnopterus) and the fawn-coloured Vulture (Gyps fulvus). Sometimes this last fact today the object of a programme of reintroduction beside the Circus of Navacelles and one can see it in the sky of SORBS.

The many caves shelter a population of Chauves-souris among which large Rhinolophe ( Rhinolophus ferrumequinum ), Small Rinolophe ( Rhinolophus hipposideros ), the small Murine one ( Myotis blythi ), the Murine one of Daubenton ( Myotis daubentonii ), the Murine one with moustache ( Myotis mystacinus ), the Murine one of Natterer ( Myotis nattereri ), Pipistrelle de Kulh ( Pipistrellus kuhlii ) and very rare Pipistrelle de Savii ( Hypsugo savii ).

The Flora is not less rich, with in particular some stations of rare species at the regional level:

Asplenium fontanum : endemic species of the sources of Foux, having only one station in Herault and Gard;
Pinguicula longifolia : vulnerable species, whose only 2 stations in Herault and 2 stations in Gard are known;
Allium flavum : species threatened in Languedoc and southern limit of its surface of distribution;
Paeonia officinalis : protected space;
Orchis coriophora subsp. fragrans: protected space whose 7 stations are known in Herault;
Platanthera chlorantha : less than 5 stations known in the department.

Personalities related to the commune

See too

Common of Herault

External bonds

Site of the commune of Sorbs
Sorbs on the site of the national geographical Institute
Sorbs on the site of INSEE
Sorbs on the site of Quid
Localization of Sorbs on a chart of France and communes bordering
Plane on Sorbs on Mapquest

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