Béziers

**Béziers** () 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.

Béziers is one of the oldest cities in France. Research shows that Béziers was built by Greeks in the 6th century BC. Some archaeologists think that Béziers could be the oldest town of France, even before Marseille.

## History

The site where is Béziers has been occupied since Neolithic times, before the arrival of Celts. Roman _Betarra_ was on the road that linked Provence with Iberia. The Romans refounded the city as a new place for veterans in 36–35 BC and called it _Colonia Julia Baeterrae Septimanorum_. Stones from the Roman amphitheatre were used to construct the city wall during the 3rd century. The city was occupied by the Moors between 720 and 752.

Béziers was a Languedoc stronghold of Catharism, which the Catholic Church condemned as heretical and which Catholic forces exterminated in the Albigensian Crusade.

Béziers was the first place to be attacked. The crusaders got to the town on 21 July 1209 and burned the cathedral of Saint Nazaire. A few parts of the Romanesque cathedral survived, and repairs started in 1215. The restoration, along with that of the rest of the city, continued until the 15th century.

After the Louis Napoléon's coup d'état in 1851, troops killed protesters in Béziers. Others were condemned to death or taken to the Guiana.

## Geography

The city is in the southeastern of the department, in the plain of Hérault (the _plaine héraultoise_). It is on a small cliff on the eastern side of the Orb river, a tributary of the Hérault river.

The _commune_ has an area of , the largest _commune_ in the department, and is at an altitude of about  above sea level. Béziers is at  to the southeast of the city of Montpellier and at  from the Mediterranean Sea.

The _commune_ of Béziers is surrounded by the _communes_ Boujan-sur-Libron, Maraussan, Lignan-sur-Orb, Villeneuve-lès-Béziers, Corneilhan, Sauvian, Colombiers, Cers, Montady, Maureilhan, Bassan and Vendres.

### Climate

The climate of Béziers, in the Köppen climate classification, is **Csa** - Mediterranean climate with hot summers.

## Population

The inhabitants of Béziers are known, in French, as _Biterrois_ (women: _Biterroises_), from _Baeterrae_, the Latin name of the city.

With a population of 75,701, Béziers has a population density of  inhabitants/km<sup>2</sup>.

**Evolution of the population in Béziers**

Béziers forms with other four _communes_ the urban area of Béziers with a population of 89,243 inhabitants (2013) and an area of . This urban area is the centre of the metropolitan area of Béziers, formed by 40 _communes_ with a population of 168,960 inhabitants (2013) and an area of .

## Administration

Béziers is a subprefecture of the Hérault department, the capital of the _arrondissement_ of Béziers and the administrative centre () of three cantons: Béziers-1, Béziers-2 and Béziers-3.

It is part of the intercommunality _Béziers Méditerranée_ ().

### Sister cities

Béziers is twinned with:
- Chiclana de la Frontera, Cádiz, Andalusia, Spain, since 1993
- Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, since 1965
- Stavropol, Stavropol Krai, Russia, since 1982
- Stockport, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom, since 1972

## Sites of interest

- **Saint-Nazaire Cathedral** (_Cathédrale Saint-Nazaire_), from the 14th century.
- **Pont Vieux**, a stone bridge over the Orb, from the Middle Ages.
- **Canal du Midi**, a canal (17th century).

## Related pages

- Arrondissement of Béziers
- Communes of the Hérault department

## Other websites

- Ville de Béziers website
- Communauté d'agglomération Béziers Méditerranée website
- Béziers in Méditerranée Tourism Office

## Infobox (french commune)

- **name**: Béziers
- **commune status**: Prefectures in France, Subprefecture and Communes of France, commune
- **image**: 1 Béziers 2016.jpg
- **image coat of arms**: Blason Béziers.svg
- **caption**: Aerial view of Béziers
- **arrondissement**: Béziers
- **canton**: Canton of Béziers-1, Béziers-1
Canton of Béziers-2, Béziers-2
Canton of Béziers-3, Béziers-3
- **insee**: 34032
- **postal code**: 34500
- **population demonym**: Biterrois
- **mayor**: Robert Ménard
- **term**: 2014–2020
- **intercommunality**: Béziers Méditerranée
- **elevation m**: 17
- **elevation min m**: 4
- **elevation max m**: 120
- **area km2**: 95.48
- **population**: 75701
- **population date**: 2014
- **website**: [http://www.ville-beziers.fr/ www.ville-beziers.fr]