Montpellier

Montpellier (môNpĕlyā`), city (1990 pop. 210,866), capital of Hérault dept., S France, near the Mediterranean coast. It is a great commercial center. Its industries, many of them recently developed, include food processing, salt working, textile milling, printing, and the manufacture of metal items and chemicals. Tourism, improved by the development of the nearby coast, is a major industry. Montpellier's population increased dramatically during the 1960s, due in part to an influx of refugees from Algeria. Dating from the 8th cent., Montpellier was the center of a fief under the counts of Toulouse; it passed (13th cent.) to the kings of Majorca, from whom it was purchased (1349) by Philip VI of France. A Huguenot center, it was besieged and taken by Louis XIII in 1622. It was the seat of the provincial estates of Languedoc. Montpellier's fame rests principally on its university, founded in 1289. Its noted medical faculty is traced to the 10th cent.; Rabelais was its most famous student. The city is also the seat of agricultural and military schools and of an international wine festival. The botanical garden there was founded in 1593.

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Montpellier

City (pop., 1999: 225,392), southern France, near the Mediterranean coast. Founded in the 8th century, it later came under control of Aragon and the king of Majorca. It developed as a trading station for spice imports in the 10th century and acquired a charter in 1141. It reverted to France in the 14th century and served as a Huguenot stronghold until its capture by Louis XIII in 1622. It then became the administrative capital of the Languedoc region. The city's schools of medicine and law date from the 12th century, and the University of Montpellier was founded in 1220. The city is a tourist centre, and its industries include food processing and electronics. Historic sites include France's oldest botanical gardens (founded 1593) and a 14th-century Gothic cathedral.