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Millau
Millau (French pronunciation: [mijo] ⓘ; Occitan: Milhau pronounced [miˈʎaw]) is a commune in Occitania, France. Located at the confluence of the Tarn and Dourbie rivers, the town is a subprefecture of the Aveyron department.
Millau is known for its Viaduct, glove industry and several nearby natural landmarks such as the Gorges du Tarn. The surrounding Causses are renowned for their pastoral traditions and cheese production, including Roquefort. In this regard, the region has been part of the Causses and Cévennes World Heritage Site since 2011.
The town dates back nearly 3000 years when it was situated on the Granède hills which dominate the town. In the second or first century B.C, it would move to the alluvial plain on the left bank of the Tarn. The plain gave the town its Gallic name of Condatomagus (Contado meaning confluence and magus for the market). The site of Condatomagus was identified in the 19th century by Dieudonné Rey; it was close to the major earthenware centre in the Roman Empire, La Graufesenque. This is where luxury ceramics such as red terra sigillata were made. Despite major new developments in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, the centre of the old Roman and medieval town on the opposite (left) bank of the Tarn remains poorly excavated, and the newly renovated Maison du Peuple, almost on the site of the old Roman forum, saw no archaeological dig prior to the excavation of the new, very deep, foundations. The local museum sits almost adjacent to this site.
By the second century A.D. trade had collapsed from competition, and subsequent barbarian invasions during the fourth and fifth centuries saw the town relocate to the opposite bank, changing its name to Amiliavum, then to Milhau en Rouergat (in the Millhau language), then to the French Millhau.
By the ninth century the town had grown. It a seat of viguerie, a mediaeval administrative court, and a centre for the production of lambskin gloves. Ramparts surrounded the town. The tenth and eleventh centuries saw the creation of the Viscount of Millau and subsequently passed to the Counts of Provence, the Counts of Barcelona and eventually, in 1112, to the father of the future King of Aragon, Béranger III following his marriage to the daughter of the Viscount of Millau. In 1187, the King of Aragon grants him the seal and communal freedom of Provence by Consular Charter. A consulate was thus created, and was responsible for administering the city to raise taxes and to apply justice. In 1271, Millau passed to the crown of the kings of France.
In 1361, during the Hundred Years War, the city came under English rule. The return to peace in the fifteenth century gave the city an economic boost. Louis XI connected Millau to the crown in 1476 by letters patent. At this time, the town was part of the former province of Rouergue where local people spoke Rouergat, a dialect of the Occitan language.
In the Middle Ages the town had one of the main mediaeval bridges across the Tarn river. It had 17 arches, but after one poorly maintained arch collapsed in the 18th century, the bridge was mostly demolished. Only one arch remains, with a mill that is now an art gallery, as testament to this significant trading route from north to south across pre-Renaissance France.
The 19th century saw the development of the glove industry. Major urban development works were carried out during the Second Empire at the instigation of banker Achille Villa, mayor from 1855 to 1865. In the first half of the 20th century, more than half of the town's inhabitants made their living from the leather industry. Millau was affected rather late by the Great Depression. In 1934, the Villa bank went bankrupt. The town was then paralysed by a six-month general strike in the winter of 1934-1935, following a 25-30% cut in workers' wages. But the glove industry remained resilient, before starting its decline in the 1960s.
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Millau AI simulator
(@Millau_simulator)
Millau
Millau (French pronunciation: [mijo] ⓘ; Occitan: Milhau pronounced [miˈʎaw]) is a commune in Occitania, France. Located at the confluence of the Tarn and Dourbie rivers, the town is a subprefecture of the Aveyron department.
Millau is known for its Viaduct, glove industry and several nearby natural landmarks such as the Gorges du Tarn. The surrounding Causses are renowned for their pastoral traditions and cheese production, including Roquefort. In this regard, the region has been part of the Causses and Cévennes World Heritage Site since 2011.
The town dates back nearly 3000 years when it was situated on the Granède hills which dominate the town. In the second or first century B.C, it would move to the alluvial plain on the left bank of the Tarn. The plain gave the town its Gallic name of Condatomagus (Contado meaning confluence and magus for the market). The site of Condatomagus was identified in the 19th century by Dieudonné Rey; it was close to the major earthenware centre in the Roman Empire, La Graufesenque. This is where luxury ceramics such as red terra sigillata were made. Despite major new developments in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, the centre of the old Roman and medieval town on the opposite (left) bank of the Tarn remains poorly excavated, and the newly renovated Maison du Peuple, almost on the site of the old Roman forum, saw no archaeological dig prior to the excavation of the new, very deep, foundations. The local museum sits almost adjacent to this site.
By the second century A.D. trade had collapsed from competition, and subsequent barbarian invasions during the fourth and fifth centuries saw the town relocate to the opposite bank, changing its name to Amiliavum, then to Milhau en Rouergat (in the Millhau language), then to the French Millhau.
By the ninth century the town had grown. It a seat of viguerie, a mediaeval administrative court, and a centre for the production of lambskin gloves. Ramparts surrounded the town. The tenth and eleventh centuries saw the creation of the Viscount of Millau and subsequently passed to the Counts of Provence, the Counts of Barcelona and eventually, in 1112, to the father of the future King of Aragon, Béranger III following his marriage to the daughter of the Viscount of Millau. In 1187, the King of Aragon grants him the seal and communal freedom of Provence by Consular Charter. A consulate was thus created, and was responsible for administering the city to raise taxes and to apply justice. In 1271, Millau passed to the crown of the kings of France.
In 1361, during the Hundred Years War, the city came under English rule. The return to peace in the fifteenth century gave the city an economic boost. Louis XI connected Millau to the crown in 1476 by letters patent. At this time, the town was part of the former province of Rouergue where local people spoke Rouergat, a dialect of the Occitan language.
In the Middle Ages the town had one of the main mediaeval bridges across the Tarn river. It had 17 arches, but after one poorly maintained arch collapsed in the 18th century, the bridge was mostly demolished. Only one arch remains, with a mill that is now an art gallery, as testament to this significant trading route from north to south across pre-Renaissance France.
The 19th century saw the development of the glove industry. Major urban development works were carried out during the Second Empire at the instigation of banker Achille Villa, mayor from 1855 to 1865. In the first half of the 20th century, more than half of the town's inhabitants made their living from the leather industry. Millau was affected rather late by the Great Depression. In 1934, the Villa bank went bankrupt. The town was then paralysed by a six-month general strike in the winter of 1934-1935, following a 25-30% cut in workers' wages. But the glove industry remained resilient, before starting its decline in the 1960s.