Le Caylar

Le Caylar
Le Caylar
Commune
	A general view of Le Caylar
	Coat of arms
	show Location of Le Caylar
	Le Caylar Show map of FranceShow map of OccitanieShow all
	Coordinates: 43°51′50″N 3°19′11″E / 43.8639°N 3.3197°ECoordinates: 43°51′50″N 3°19′11″E / 43.8639°N 3.3197°E
Country	France
Region	Occitanie
Department	Hérault
Arrondissement	Lodève
Canton	Lodève
Intercommunality	Lodévois - Larzac
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Jean Trinquier
Area 1	22.08 km2 (8.53 sq mi)
Population (Jan. 2018)	452
• Density	20/km2 (53/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	34064 /34520
Elevation	714–826 m (2,343–2,710 ft) ; (avg. 752 m or 2,467 ft)
	1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Le Caylar, also known as Le Caylar-en-Larzac, is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France, in the administrative region of Occitanie. It has the Village étape label since 2013.

Geography[]

Map

Le Caylar is situated 71 km from Montpellier and 18 km from Lodève. The village is situated on the limestone karst plateau of Larzac.

The climate is very dry there, cold in winter and rather hot in summer.

The rocks consist of limestones: calcium carbonate (CaCO3) or dolomite: double carbonate of calcium and magnesium (CaMg (CO3) 2). The first gives very lapiazed reliefs. The second is less soluble than the first, resulting in irregular reliefs.^[3]

Toponymy[]

Le is a French indefinite article equivalent to the in English. Caylar is an old meridional word meaning castle. Therefore, Le Caylar means The Castle.

The long form of the commune, Le-Caylar-en-Larzac, means The castle in Larzac, Larzac being the name of the plateau the commune is situated on.

History[]

The first traces of occupation of the site date back to the Iron Age. Carolingian houses (before the 10th century) can still be seen in the village.

The Roc Castel, which overlooks the village of Caylar, constitutes the remains of the Castellas (castle) originally built in the 12th century. The Notre-Dame du Roc Castel chapel, still housed there, also dates from the 12th century.

Town in the beginning of the 20th.
Town in the beginning of the 20th.
The camp Lauriet in the beginning of the 20th.
Postal card of the place and the calvary (end 19th - early 20th).

Population[]

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1793	628	—
1801	720	+14.6%
1806	757	+5.1%
1821	809	+6.9%
1831	805	−0.5%
1836	860	+6.8%
1841	824	−4.2%
1846	830	+0.7%
1851	875	+5.4%
1856	849	−3.0%
1861	863	+1.6%
1866	841	−2.5%
1872	819	−2.6%
1876	796	−2.8%
1881	766	−3.8%
1886	714	−6.8%
1891	719	+0.7%

Year	Pop.	±%
1896	678	−5.7%
1901	626	−7.7%
1906	596	−4.8%
1911	550	−7.7%
1921	502	−8.7%
1926	508	+1.2%
1931	504	−0.8%
1936	449	−10.9%
1946	397	−11.6%
1954	378	−4.8%
1962	318	−15.9%
1968	327	+2.8%
1975	259	−20.8%
1982	295	+13.9%
1990	339	+14.9%
1999	383	+13.0%
2008	437	+14.1%

Monuments[]

Notre-Dame Chapel. Wood retable from the 14th century.
The Sculpted Tree (Arbre sculpté in french).
Roc Castel. This rock dominates the village (altitude 752 meters), offering a valuable panorama on the Larzac.

View of the castle.
The Sculpted Tree.
Detail of the sculpted tree.
The Roc Castel viewed from the A75.
View from the roc castel on the Larzac.

References[]

^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
^ "Populations légales 2018". INSEE. 28 December 2020.
^ Gérard Mottet, Géographie physique de la France, Presses universitaires de France, 1999, p. 223.