A palette of influences
A land of encounters and exchanges for thousands of years, the Hérault has developed through the influence of numerous artistic currents that have blended with local traditions. The influence of the Romans is still particularly visible in the département. In every corner of the region, remains dating back thousands of years bear witness to local history, such as the various aqueducts, the Via Domitia and the Castellas archaeological site.
Conversely, the Visigoths, who settled in the area between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD, left few traces of their presence. During their occupation and in the centuries that followed, the north of the Empire was affected by the first Christian art, the Carolingian Renaissance. At the time, the division of the country was enough to explain why this boom did not reach the present-day territory of the Hérault.
The second period of Romanesque art, on the other hand, was mainly expressed in large-scale buildings. It was a time when sculpture flourished, representing humans, flora and a fantastic bestiary with oriental origins.
The integration of Languedoc into the Kingdom of France led to the disappearance of cultural frontiers, and influences from elsewhere began to permeate the département. Hérault was particularly affected by the emergence of the Gothic style in both civil and religious architecture. This was the period of the construction of the great cathedrals that would mark the imprint of religious power on the region's towns, such as Béziers, Lodève and Clermont-l'Hérault. Monuments that still impress with their rich features and majestic peaks.
Thereafter, the Renaissance had little impact on the South of France, and it was not until the Classical period that architecture began to revolutionize urban landscapes. This revolution was brought about by Auguste-Charles d'Aviler (1653-1701), who, as provincial architect, completed prestigious projects and contributed to more modest works, such as the Peyrou triumphal arch and the churches of Saint-Denis in Montpellier and Saint-Pierre in Le Vigan.
All around the towns, bourgeois and notables built summer residences, small castles surrounded by vines that foreshadowed the "pinardier" castles that would appear on the plains in the 19th century during the "Wine Eldorado".
In the 18th century, aristocrats and middle-class citizens invested in the area around Montpellier, building holiday and reception homes known as the Folies montpelliéraines. Estates, châteaux, farmhouses and luxury hotels were designed by local architects. These refined residences house ballrooms, musicians' galleries, bedrooms and boudoirs. Since 2022, the city of Montpellier has been building new, uniquely designed "Folies" to continue this architectural tradition in a contemporary way.
Habitats resulting from the development of the vineyard
Winegrowers' houses appeared at the time of the winegrowing boom, helping to expand villages. As villages developed concentrically - "en circulade" - around a church or fortified castle, these houses are generally located in the second or third circle of the snail shape. These alignments of houses are particularly striking in Saint-Thibéry and Montagnac in the Hérault region.
At the time, these houses served as both workplaces and homes. They vary in size and appearance, depending on the wealth of their owners. Typically, the wine cellar was located on the first floor, accessed through a large portal called the "magasin". This area could also be used as a wine storehouse, barn or cellar. Vats can still be found in some of these buildings. The living quarters were upstairs. Sometimes, there was a second floor called the "galetas" or attic, where hay was stored. In this case, you'll notice a window with a pulley on the front to hoist the bales.
At the end of the 19th century, the rise of winegrowing also led to the fortunes of wealthy merchants. To establish their presence, they built châteaux in the heart of the agricultural plain, known as "châteaux pinardiers". Symbols of a triumphant economy, they have no single architecture or décor, but are the result of an architectural profusion, a mixture of the whims of the owners and the fantasies of the architects. Romanesque, Gothic, Classical, Baroque, Neo-Renaissance and Colonial styles are all mixed together, norms are shaken up and monuments with a strong identity emerge along the way. If the construction has not changed, few decorative ensembles have remained intact. Here are just a few examples of pinardier châteaux: Château de Gaujal-de-Saint-Bon in Pinet, Saint-Martin de Graves in Pézenas, Sainte-Cécile in Saint-Thibéry, L'Hermitage-de-Combas in Servian and La Devèze in Béziers.
Modern and contemporary architecture
Over the last fifty years or so, urban architecture has shown itself to be innovative, and the Hérault department is an excellent illustration of these modern developments. Already in the 1970s, with the democratization of water sports, seaside resorts were being transformed. La Grande-Motte is the best example of this transformation, as it is the largest port created along the Languedoc-Roussillon coast by the RACINE mission (interministerial mission for the development of tourism on the Languedoc-Roussillon coast). Here, architect Jean Balladur broke with tradition and built buildings with a pyramidal shape and original allure. Thanks to these architectural achievements, the town has been awarded the "Patrimoine du XXe siècle" label. This wind of modernity has also blown through Montpellier. In 2011, architects Jean Nouvel and François Fontès were chosen to design the latest town hall. The result: a 40-metre-high, transparent parallelepiped. This highly contemporary building is also environmentally friendly: it houses one of France's largest photovoltaic power plants. The steel structure is clad with aluminum and glass facades, taking the city into another dimension. Still in the capital of Languedoc, we can cite the work of architect Zaha Hadid, responsible for Pierresvives, a 3,500m2 space dedicated to culture, inaugurated in 2012. Constructed in concrete and glass, the complex geometry of this building is three-dimensional. Zaha Hadid's fluid lines, sharp angles and play on transparency give an impression of movement. This work enabled her to become the first woman to be awarded the Pritzker Prize, the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in architecture.
