Faugères

General Information

Population : 360
Alititude : 250 m
Lovely panoramic views
Services : Wine Cellars (tasting), L’échalote, restaurant in Soumartre
Post code : 34600

Sites of interest

The “capitelles” (dry-stone huts)
6th century chapel : Saint-Etienne de Frontignan
12th century Chapel
Castle from the Middle Ages
The Faugères windmills, at an altitude of 427m, currently being restored
Temple ruins
Hamlets of Soumatre and la Caumette

Activities and Economy

A co-operative
The cellar of Gilbert Alquier and Son.
The pottery of Pous-sec.
Bee farm
Tennis
Crafts

History

This little town, much like most of its neighbours of the Avant-Monts in Hérault, possesses a rich historical past. Now, lost in the mountains, separated from other more active towns, far from leisure areas, one is unaware of its cultural resonance. The French don’t suspect for a moment that here lies a not insignificant corner of their country’s heritage.

It is clearly not a case of the funded restoration of buildings, such as can be found in rich towns like Arles, Nîmes and Narbonne. Nor is it a question of impressive abbeys rediscovering former glories when the dulcet tones of Gregorian chants could be heard. Just the embodiment of popular faith through simple remains: Romanesque, even pre-Romanesque chapels, found abandoned off the beaten track, often in ruin.

Sometimes one comes across even older reminders, such as Bronze Age dry-stone hovels, the first shelters of shepherds, used for the move to summer pastures. Or, perhaps, etched against the sky, the menacing walls of the keeps which acted as the first strongholds of feudal chiefs in the 9th and 10th centuries. And finally the more modest remains, those of local artisans: watermills, windmills, communal lime ovens, wine presses and so on. Not forgetting the oldest temples from the Reformation, one of which dates from 1577.