Pézenas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Commune of Pézenas | |
| Location | |
| Longitude | 03° 25' 25" E |
| Latitude | 43° 27' 38" N |
| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Languedoc-Roussillon |
| Department | Hérault |
| Arrondissement | Béziers |
| Canton | Pézenas |
| Intercommunality | Communauté d'Agglomération Hérault Méditerranée |
| Mayor | Alain Vogel-Singer (2001-2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Altitude | 3 m–96 m (avg. 15 m) |
| Land area¹ | 29.56 km² |
| Population² (1999) |
7,443 |
| - Density (1999) | 251/km² |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 34199/ 34120 |
| ¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 mi² or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| ² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel). | |
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Pézenas is a commune of the Hérault département, in France.
Contents |
[edit] Name
From the older name Piscenae, probably from the Latin word piscenis, meaning fishpond. According to legend, there was a lake full of fish behind the Chateau. Inhabitants of Pézenas are Piscenois.
[edit] Origins
The origins of Pézenas are unclear, but were influenced by three factors: water from the River Peyne, an ancient pre-Roman route from Rodez to Saint-Thibery and a defensive hill.
[edit] Monuments
- The old town centre with narrow streets and Hôtel Privet (rather grand Town Houses from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, when Pézenas was the Seat of The Governors of Languedoc).
- The Collégiale Saint-Jean church (18th century), designed by Jean-Baptiste Franque, contains an organ by Lépine.
- Church of Saint-Jean-de-Bébian, romanesque, classed as a Monument historique (Historic monument).
- The church of Sainte-Ursule, built in 1686 by the master mason Antoine Carrier, became the parish church after the Concordat.
- Molière Monument (1897) by Jean-Antoine Injalbert.
- L'illustre Théâtre, theatre in converted warehouse, open all year
- Vulliod Saint-Germain museum: collections illustrating the town's history and a room dedicated to Molière.
- Door museum
- See Château de Pézenas for details of the castle site.
[edit] Transportation
- Road: Route National 9, which used to pass through the town centre, has been replaced by a bypass which now forms the final few miles of the A75 autoroute from Clermont-Ferrand, soon to be extended the last few miles to join the A9 at Beziers.
- Rail: Nearest main line station is Agde. Two single track lines used to serve Pézenas. The track from Beziers has been removed, though the station (Gare du Nord) still exists as a cultural centre. The line from Vias, near Agde, is still used occasionally by freight trains from a quarry further north, but the Gare du Midi station is closed.
- Air: Nearest international airports are Montpellier, Nimes, Perpignan and Carcassonne. Beziers-Vias airport is closer and has daily flights to Paris. Plans are in hand to lengthen the runway to accept larger aircraft. A small grass airstrip is nearby at Nijas.
[edit] Famous people and Pézenas
Pézenas was the birthplace of
- Boby Lapointe (1922-1972): writer, singer, comedian
- Louis Paulhan (1883-1963): pioneering French pilot
- Paul Vidal de la Blache (1845-1918), geographer, regarded as the father of modern French geography
- Emile Mazuc (b. 24 July 1832), author of Languedoc dialect grammar - Grammaire Languedocienne (1899, reprinted 1994)
People linked with Pézenas
- Molière (Jean-Baptiste Poquelin) (1622-1673), playwright, stayed in Pézenas with his theatre group l'Illustre Théâtre.
- Gabriel François Venel (1723-1775) chemist, author of l'Encyclopédie méthodique de chimie (1796), inventor of seltzer water, lived and worked in the town and has a street named after him. (See French wikipedia article
- Edmond Charlot (1915-2004), editor in Free French Algiers during the 1940s, and discoverer of Albert Camus, lived in Pézenas from 1980.
- Lord Clive (1725-1774) stayed in the town in 1768, supposedly giving it the recipe for the petit pâté de Pézenas
- Alexandra Rosenfeld Miss France 2006 and Miss Europe 2006, (born in Béziers and living in St Thibéry, is studying tourism in Pézenas)
- Jean-Baptiste Pillement, a Rococo painter, famous for his chinoiserie and landscapes.
[edit] Local specialities
- Le petit pâté de Pézenas: a small sweet/savoury pie supposedly made to a recipe from Clive of India. (see below)
- Le berlingot de Pézenas: boiled sugar sweets
[edit] Le petit pâté de Pézenas
The size and shape of a large cotton reel, these little pies are a golden brown, crispy pastry with a moist, sweet inside. They can be eaten as an hors d'oeuvre, with a salad or as a dessert. They are cooked in patisseries all over the town, but their origin is far from local. Tradition has it that Lord Clive brought the recipe from India and taught it to the pastry makers of Pézenas when he was staying at the Chateau de Larzac in 1768. It is more likely is that his servants were responsible. The recipe is:
Ingredients 200g lean roast mutton 100g sheep suet 75g lard 250g flour 5 soup spoons of brown and white sugar lemon peel salt and pepper Method 1. Mince the mutton, fat, sugar, lemon peel, salt and pepper. 2. Mix together the lard, flour, a pinch of salt and a little water. 3. Knead to a smooth dough, roll out and make small cylindrical pots. 4. Fill with the stuffing. 5. Leave to rest for 24 hours. 6. Cook in a hot oven for 35-40 minutes. 7. Serve warm
The same filling is also used in Tourte de Pezenas, made with flaky pastry.
[edit] Twin town
Pézenas is twinned with Market Drayton, UK, birthplace of Lord Clive.
[edit] References
- Bonnefont, Marie Elise Pézenas: le temps d'une balade (Bonnefont, 2003) ISBN 2-9520940-0-4
