Marsillargues | |
Commune Status: | Commune |
Image Coat Of Arms: | Blason ville fr Marsillargues (Hérault).svg |
Arrondissement: | Montpellier |
Canton: | Lunel |
Insee: | 34151 |
Postal Code: | 34590 |
Mayor: | Patrice Spéziale[1] |
Term: | 2020 - 2026 |
Intercommunality: | Pays de Lunel |
Coordinates: | 43.6649°N 4.1789°W |
Elevation Min M: | 0 |
Elevation Max M: | 11 |
Area Km2: | 42.7 |
Marsillargues (in French pronounced as /maʁsijaʁɡ/; Provençal: Marsilhargues) is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France.
Its inhabitants are called Marsillarguois.
The city is situated on the Vidourle river, at mid distance of Montpellier and Nîmes. The commune lies on a vast plain, quite marshy in the south part, which is called Petite Camargue. The closest towns to Marsillargues are Lunel, Aimargues and Saint-Laurent-d'Aigouze.
Marsillargues has a mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa). The average annual temperature in Marsillargues is . The average annual rainfall is with October as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around, and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Marsillargues was on 28 June 2019; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 5 February 2012.
The castle was founded in 1305 by Guillaume de Nogaret, who became Lord of Marsillargues, in reward of his services returned to Philip IV, King of France. From the feudal castle, only the basements, the large kitchens and the keep with its square tower remain.
The church was built in 1688 by Jacques Cubissol, and houses a remarkable oil painting on canvas "La Nativité" attributed to French painter Charles Errard.
A Temple was first built between 1574 and 1582. During the tragic period of the French Wars of Religion, it was damaged and then repaired in 1599, only to be totally destroyed in 1685 following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The Concordat of 1801 allowed a Protestant minister to be installed at Marsillargues in 1803. Ground was broken for a new Temple in 1806, and it was finished in 1818.