The Heroes of Heritage Sites in Western Hérault (video)

Meet the deeply rooted men and women who volunteer countless hours to preserving civil, religious and industrial heritage sites in an uncommon destination in southwest France: western Hérault.

Western Hérault is such an uncommon destination in southwest France that I was surprised when a Facebook friend posted a photo taken from the exact spot where I’d stood to take a similar picture two weeks earlier: on a bridge with a view of the town of Olargues and the Devil’s Bridge over the Juar River.

“Hey, Sarah,” I commented, “I was just there!,” and I posted my own shot, the one shown at the top of this article.

Sarah—that’s Sarah Diligenti, president of the Alliance Française of Washington, D.C.—was even more surprised. She, at least, had grown up in southwest France, in Toulouse, and had hiked those hills during her university years. She’d posted her photo during a bittersweet homecoming vacation; it her first return to western Hérault since the death of her mother in a nursing home there in 1994. She’d come to go hiking and to rediscover the area’s landscapes. But what possibly could have brought me to the region, let alone to that very same bridge? she asked.

There was no re to my discovery of the area, I told her. It was my first trip to the western portion of the department of Hérault. I’d only recently heard of the Orb Valley, my main destination within that area, and before going I’d had to zoom way in on the map to even read the unrecognizable names of the towns and villages I would visit: Boussagues, La Tour-sur-Orb, Colombières-sur-Orb, Gervais-sur-Mare, Villemagne-L’Argenitière, Olargues.

What had drawn me to the area wasn’t only that it represented the chance to discover a corner of France that I’d never visited before—a quest that increasingly takes me to remote areas—but, more importantly, the opportunity to meet a group of men and women who devote countless hours trying to preserve and promote an array of unspectacular cultural heritage sites that few would notice if abandoned altogether. I’d been invited, along with several other journalists, by Patrimoines Hérault Tourisme (PHT), a federation of local non-profit associations in a zone that has been largely bypassed and often ignored since the extinction of its industries in the 20th century. PHT recognizes that individually its members have little touristic, economic and cultural weight, but together, like Dr. Seuss’s Whos of Whoville, they may be able to draw attention to their territory.

Once Sarah Diligenti and I had explained to each other our respective reasons for being on that lesser-traveled bridge, she asked if I’d be interested in making co-presentation to the Alliance Française of D.C. via Zoom to talk about that little-visited area of Hérault that captivated us in very different ways. She would speak about her experiences and encounters; I would speak about mine. Certainly, I said. The video near the bottom of this article is a recording of that presentation.

… And Why You Should Meet Them

Meeting people who are dedicated to preserving heritage sites, no matter how off-track or seemingly insignificant those sites may be, is essential to understanding local and regional history and the layers of grassroot, economic and political efforts required to preserve them. One needn’t be a preservationist, or even have a prior interest in the site itself, to reap the rewards of such encounters. Meeting local residents with deep personal roots is always interesting, and meeting residents with a passion for their locality, whatever their (or your) point of view, is invariably a major marker of memorable travels. Furthermore, once you’ve shown yourself to be a curious traveler, that same resident may then introduce you to local chefs, winegrowers and other flavor-enhancers, as in the case of my visit.

Considering their territory ignored by regional and departmental tourist officials and other economic actors, the small non-profit associations that comprise PHT began banding together in 2020 with the aim of connecting and enhancing the building blocks for the touristic and economic development of the sparsely inhabited hills and valleys Hérault’s upper cantons. The federation’s co-founders Daniel Pierson, the owner of a Renaissance mansion that’s open to the public in a mostly medieval village, and Brother Marie-Pâques, a priest and monk overseeing the restoration of a medieval chapel, continue to be its main driving forces along with Annick Jeanjean, Linday Hancox and others whom I refer to in my presentation as “the heroes of heritage sites of western Herault.” (Hérault and héros [heroes] are pronounced quite similarly in French.) There are now 14 non-profit associations within the federation, each overseeing a small piece of the overall puzzle of heritage sites in western Hérault: an old lime kiln, a castle ruin, a toy museum, a church organ, an old mill, a museum of local traditions, and others.

Seen from a distance and given the diversity of civil, religious and industrial heritage sites that they represent, the men and women of Patrimoines Hérault Tourisme appear to form an improbable alliance. But from up close, they add up to a portrait of the history and current challenges and potential of this territory.

PHT states that western Hérault currently represents only 3% of that in the overall department of Hérault. Montpellier, the department’s capital, and the coast are the Hérault’s primary destinations, with Saint Guilhem le Désert being the rare cultural destination for those heading into the hills.

Tourist officials headquartered in Montpellier see western Hérault as a “green” destination, meaning for outdoor activities. Indeed, its hills, valleys, rivers and streams lend themselves to hiking, as Sarah Diligenti so well describes in her portion of the presentation. But PHT wishes those officials would also talk up the area’s heritage sites.

Patrimoine Hérault Tourisme is well aware that the touristic and economic development of the territory isn’t solely in the hands of local heritage associations seeking to preserve their obscure and/or remote sites. The Whos of this Whoville are therefore in constant search of partners among the economic actors and potential economic actors in the zone: hotels, B&Bs, winegrowers (vineyards of the Languedoc appellation Faugères), restaurant owners, artists and artisans, etc., in order to strengthen networks and make their voices heard. But nothing moves far in France without the local and departmental political will to direct subsidies and taxes so they’ve tried to get the area’s small-town mayors to lend their voices as well. Whether the political, economic and non-profit movers and shakers can come together audibly remains to be seen—rather, heard.

The folks I met from Patrimoine Hérault Tourisme are just a few examples of the heroes of heritage sites in France. There are thousands of them throughout the country. As I say, the sites they wish to preserve may seem insignificant at first glance, you may even think the devotion of the individuals in these associations quaint or misplaced or self-serving, but seeing the sites and meeting those who would preserve and promote them will allow you reap that great reward of travel to uncommon destinations: the opportunity to meet men and women who are deeply rooted there, who deeply care about their (natural, economic and historical) environment and who warmly, earnestly wish to share it with you.

And then when I post a picture of a view that I imagine myself to be the first non-local to view in centuries, you’ll write to me, “Hey, Gary, I was just there!”

The presentation

The video below launches at 29’46”, the beginning of my 40-minute presentation of February 17, 2022, to the Alliance Française of Washington, D.C. Move the cursor back to the start of the video to also hear Sarah’s presentation about certain historical aspects and hiking in the region.

In 2021 I organized and emceed for the Association des Journalistes du Patrimoine, France’s association of heritage journalistes, a presentation via Zoom of the work of Patrimoines Hérault Tourisme. A recording of that presentation, conducted in French, can be viewed here.

If you go

For more about the individual heritage sites represented by Patrimoines Hérault Tourisme and their collective efforts, including contact details, see www.patrimoinesheraultourisme.fr.

Lodging

L’Ortensia, an attractive B&B and restaurant overlooking Saint-Gervais-sur-Mare.
Château de Colombières sur Orb in Colombières-sur-Orb. Weekly rental in a gîte on the property of Thérèse Salavin, the village’s mayor.
The Avène Hydrotherapy Center, a 4-star hotel and spa/treatment center operated by the Pierre Fabre Group.
Le Belleville, also a brasserie, in Lamalou les Bains.

Restaurants

La Forge in Bédarieux.
Le Bouchon d’Orb and Le Château de Lunas in Lunas.
Auberge de Madale and La Mécanique des Frères Bonano in Colombières-sur-Orb.
Le Village des Sources in Ceilhes.
L’Ocre Rouge in Hérépian.
Les Marronniers in Lamalou-les-Bains.
Chez Bourrel, also a hotel, in Truscas (Avène).

© 2022, Gary Lee Kraut