CLERMONT-L'HERAULT

clermont-l'herault, or clermont de lodeve, a town of southern france in the department of herault, 10 m. s.s.e. by rail of lodeve. pop. (1906) 4731. the town is built on the slope of a hill which is crowned by an ancient castle and skirted by the rhonel, a tributary of the lergue. it has an interesting church of the 13th and 14th centuries. the chief manufacture is that of cloth for military clothing, and woollen goods, an industry which dates from the latter half of the 17th century. tanning and leather-dressing are also carried on, and there is trade in wine, wool and grain. among the public institutions are a tribunal of commerce, a chamber of arts and manufactures, a board of trade-arbitration and a communal college. the town was several times taken and retaken in the religious wars of the 16th century.