15 minutes from Montpellier and as many beaches, Pignan is between Garrigues and plains. A village full of charm... that breathes good life!
As for its history... Rich and eventful is the past of the city of Pignan...
The Gallo-Roman period: Many vestiges (including funerary) of this time. But it is also the period when "villae", these large rural estates, appear, which then cover the part of plain that extends on both sides of Via Domitia. Pignan is also probably the origin of his name in that of one of these great Gallo Roman owners.
Pignan in the eleventh and twelfth centuries: Around the year 1000, Pignan is in the form of a Castrum, ie a fortified place with castle and enclosure. This is the current Fort Viel. At the end of the 14th century, the village, like the barony of Montpellier as a whole, passed under the sovereignty of the King of France.
The transformations of the fourteenth century: After the plague, depopulation, it is the fire of its suburbs (ie outside the ramparts of Fort Viel) that the village knew. In 1386, an agreement is found: it is the genesis of a new Pignan, sheltered by new walls of which the Clock Tower is one of the main vestiges.
The wars of religion: The Reformation knows some success in Pignan. The village has its Reformed church supported by the lords who became Protestants. The wars of religion are raging at Pignan. After the Edict of Nantes, in 1598, Protestants give themselves their first temple. The revolt of 1621- 1622 is a period of violence in the village. The church will be demolished again, the castle of St Martin burnt after plunder. But the victory of the royal troops causes many inconveniences for the Huguenots and particularly the loss of the right of consulate, the confiscation of their temple which will become, during nearly fifty years, parish church, before being chapel of Penitents. The entire community suffered the punishment, since the walls of the village will be demolished by order of Louis XIII, in 1625. It will be necessary to wait for 27 years (1652) so that the king allows the construction of simple walls. The church of Pignan is built in 1670.
The Revolution and the Hundred Days: These are periods of violence in which the two hostile parties succeed each other in power according to events, by opposing each other. A political assassination in 1792 is followed by the looting of the castle by popular elements from Montpellier.
