Lodève

**Lodève** () is a commune in the Hérault département in the Occitanie region in southern France. It is a subprefecture of the department and also the capital of the _arrondissement_ of the same name.

## History

Lodève started as the capital of a Celtic tribe before becoming the Roman city **Luteva** (also known as _Forum Neronis_). It was a centre for textile production under Louis XV and was home to one of only two royal factories for tapestry, the other being the one in Paris.

## Geography

Lodève is in the north of the Hérault department, where the plains rise up to the Larzac plateau. It is a narrow valley of the Lergue river, a tributary of the Hérault river.

The _commune_ has an area of  and is at an altitude of about  above sea level. The city of Montpellier is to the east of Lodève at  and Béziers is to the west at . Lodève is at  from the Mediterranean Sea.

The _commune_ of Lodève is surrounded by the _communes_ Soumont, Olmet-et-Villecun, Poujols, Fozières, Les Plans, Le Puech, Soubès, Lauroux, Lavalette, Saint-Étienne-de-Gourgas, Le Bosc and Usclas-du-Bosc.

### Climate

The climate of Lodève, in the Köppen climate classification, is **Csb** - Mediterranean climate with template summers.

## Population

The inhabitants of Lodève are known, in French, as _ Lodévois_ (women: _Lodévoises_).

With a population of 7,381, Lodève has a population density of  inhabitants/km<sup>2</sup>.

**Evolution of the population in Lodève**

Lodève forms with other seven _communes_ the urban area of Lodève with a population of 9,780 inhabitants (2013) and an area of . This urban area is the centre of the metropolitan area of Lodève, formed by nine _communes_ with a population of 9,977 inhabitants (2013) and an area of .

## Administration

Lodève is a subprefecture of the Hérault department, the capital of the _arrondissement_ of Lodève and the administrative centre () of the canton of Lodève.

It is part of the intercommunality _Lodévois et Larzac_ ().

### Sister cities

Lodève is twinned with:
- South Kirkby and Moorthorpe, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom

## Sites of interest

- **Lodève Cathedral** (_Cathédrale Saint-Fulcran de Lodève_), parts of which date from the sixth century.
- **Museum Fleury** (temporary art exhibitions and archeology permanent collection).
- **L'Atelier national du tapis de Lodève**, the French state carpet-making workshop.

## Related pages

- Arrondissement of Lodève
- Communes of the Hérault department

## Other websites

- Ville de Lodève website
- Communauté de communes Lodévois et Larzac website
- Tourisme en Lodévois et Larzac

## Infobox (french commune)

- **name**: Lodève
- **commune status**: Subprefectures in France, Subprefecture and Communes of France, commune
- **image coat of arms**: Blason ville fr Lodève (Hérault).svg
- **image**: Lodève vue générale.JPG
- **caption**: View of Lodève
- **arrondissement**: Lodève
- **canton**: Lodève
- **intercommunality**: Lodévois et Larzac
- **mayor**: Marie-Christine Bousquet
- **term**: 2014-2020
- **elevation m**: 165
- **elevation min m**: 117
- **elevation max m**: 700
- **area km2**: 23.17
- **population demonym**: Lodévois
- **population**: 7381
- **population date**: 2014
- **insee**: 34142
- **postal code**: 34700
- **website**: [http://www.lodeve.com/ www.lodeve.com]