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/km2.

**Evolution of the population in Lodève**

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 bar:1968 from:0 till: 7556
 bar:1975 from:0 till: 7910
 bar:1982 from:0 till: 8378
 bar:1990 from:0 till: 7602
 bar:1999 from:0 till: 6900
 bar:2009 from:0 till: 7361
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 bar:1968 at: 7556 fontsize:S text: 7,556 shift:(-12,5)
 bar:1975 at: 7910 fontsize:S text: 7,910 shift:(-18,5)
 bar:1982 at: 8378 fontsize:S text: 8,378 shift:(-18,5)
 bar:1990 at: 7602 fontsize:S text: 7,602 shift:(-18,5)
 bar:1999 at: 6900 fontsize:S text: 6,900 shift:(-18,5)
 bar:2009 at: 7361 fontsize:S text: 7,361 shift:(-18,5)
 bar:2014 at: 7381 fontsize:S text: 7,381 shift:(-18,5)

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.

## Gallery 

File:Lodeve Pont de Fer.jpg|The *Pont de Fer'' ('Iron Bridge', 19th century), Lodève.
File:Lodève,la cathédrale.jpg|*Saint-Fulcran de Lodève* cathedral.
File:Lodève (Hérault, Fr) cathédrale.JPG|Lodève cathedral.
File:Lodève mairie.JPG|Town hall of Lodève.

## Related pages
* Arrondissement of Lodève
* Communes of the Hérault department

## References
## Other websites
* Ville de Lodève website  
* Communauté de communes Lodévois et Larzac website  
* Tourisme en Lodévois et Larzac