Lunel, Hérault

Lunel
Commune
Town hall
Coat of arms
Country	France
Region	Languedoc-Roussillon-Midi-Pyrénées
Department	Hérault
Arrondissement	Montpellier
Canton	Lunel
Intercommunality	Pays de Lunel
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Pierre Soujol
Area1	23.90 km2 (9.23 sq mi)
Population (Jan. 2018)2
INSEE/Postal code	34145 / 34400
Elevation	2–53 m (6.6–173.9 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Lunel (French pronunciation: ​[lynɛl]; Provençal: Lunèl) is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France. According to legend, Lunel was founded by Jews from Jericho in the first century. It had a Jewish population by the first millennium, and an ancient synagogue is located there.

Map

Lunel is located 21 km (13 mi) east of Montpellier and 28 km (17 mi) southwest of Nîmes (Gard).

History

The ancient Roman site of Ambrussum is located nearby. The troubadour Folquet de Lunel was from Lunel.

Lunel was a centre of Jewish learning. It is thought that the family of Rashi (1040–1105), the great Rabbi and commentator, originated in Lunel. Other scholars include Jonathan of Lunel, Meshullam ben Jacob of Lunel, his son Aaron ben Meshullam ben Jacob of Lunel, Abraham ben David who taught in Lunel before moving to Posquières, and Asher ben Meshullam of Lunel.

Lunel was the birthplace of Louis Feuillade (1873–1925), film director from the silent era. The artist Jean Hugo (1894-1984) lived in the Lunel area for most of his life and painted scenes from the surrounding countryside. The Parc Jean Hugo in the centre of the town was named after him.

Since the 20th century, the town has been a destination for Muslim immigrants from Algerian and other parts of North Africa. In 2015 the New York Times reported that 10% of all the French people killed fighting in Syria for ISIS came from Lunel.

Population

Historical population
Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 4,170 —     1800 4,227 +0.19% 1806 4,196 −0.12% 1821 5,554 +1.89% 1831 6,260 +1.20% 1836 6,320 +0.19% 1841 6,385 +0.20% 1846 6,639 +0.78% 1851 6,392 −0.76% 1856 6,712 +0.98% 1861 6,737 +0.07% 1866 6,989 +0.74% 1872 7,281 +0.68% 1876 8,315 +3.38% 1881 6,487 −4.84% 1886 6,667 +0.55% 1891 6,793 +0.38% 1896 7,203 +1.18%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 7,532 +0.90% 1906 7,489 −0.11% 1911 7,730 +0.64% 1921 7,539 −0.25% 1926 8,268 +1.86% 1931 8,435 +0.40% 1936 7,665 −1.90% 1946 7,775 +0.14% 1954 7,758 −0.03% 1962 8,872 +1.69% 1968 10,735 +3.23% 1975 13,452 +3.28% 1982 15,648 +2.18% 1990 18,404 +2.05% 1999 22,352 +2.18% 2007 24,044 +0.92% 2012 25,405 +1.11% 2017 26,239 +0.65%
Source: EHESS and INSEE (1968-2017)

See also

• Hachmei Provence
• Communes of the Hérault department

External links

• Official website (in French)