The village sits on the bank of Lac du Salagou. When the dam that created the lake was built (1964–68), the intention was to raise the water level in two stages—first to 139m, then to 150m. The second stage would have engulfed the village of Celles, which is at a mean altitude of 144m, and accordingly the village and its vineyards were officially abandoned. The first stage of water level left the water lapping at the foot of the village without encroaching on any structures. The second stage was never implemented, so a few villagers re-occupied the Mairie, repairing public buildings in order that the status of Celles as a commune would be preserved. However, the French authorities are allowing the village to decay and all buildings except the Mairie and the church are in ruins. It is a popular place for fishing and picnics.
In 1990, the city council, hoping to "move" the department to revitalize the village, called on the general council, owner of the ruins, to secure them in the name of public safety. The expected result - the restoration of the houses - actually led to a crystallization action of the village, with a concreting of the ridges and laying fences around the houses. It was not until 1996 that the department took the official decision to permanently maintain the rating 139. From the beginning, some of the former inhabitants fought to maintain the status of commune in Celles, and regularly maintained and renovated communal buildings, not expropriable
The ruined village has served as a backdrop for several feature film scenes, notably the 1985 thriller Zone Rouge (Red Zone).
Possible repopulationedit
In September 2017 a scheme was announced for the repopulation of Celles. The village will be partially rebuilt, connected to the water and telephone systems, and 119 people will move in in time for the 50th anniversary of the abandonment, September 2019.[3]
celles, hérault, celles, french, pronunciation, sɛl, occitan, cèlas, commune, hérault, department, southern, france, cellescommunecelleslocation, cellescellesshow, francecellesshow, occitaniecoordinates, 66139, 34083, 66139, 34083countryfranceregionoccitaniade. Celles French pronunciation sɛl Occitan Celas is a commune in the Herault department in southern France CellesCommuneCellesLocation of CellesCellesShow map of FranceCellesShow map of OccitanieCoordinates 43 39 41 N 03 20 27 E 43 66139 N 3 34083 E 43 66139 3 34083CountryFranceRegionOccitaniaDepartmentHeraultArrondissementLodeveCantonLodeveIntercommunalityLodevois et LarzacGovernment Mayor 2020 2026 Joelle Goudal 1 Area17 56 km2 2 92 sq mi Population 2021 2 27 Density3 6 km2 9 2 sq mi Time zoneUTC 01 00 CET Summer DST UTC 02 00 CEST INSEE Postal code34072 34700Elevation89 350 m 292 1 148 ft avg 100 m or 330 ft 1 French Land Register data which excludes lakes ponds glaciers gt 1 km2 0 386 sq mi or 247 acres and river estuaries Contents 1 History 2 Possible repopulation 3 Population 4 Politics and administration 5 See also 6 Further reading 7 ReferencesHistory edit nbsp Leudaire of the jurisdiction of ClermontThe village sits on the bank of Lac du Salagou When the dam that created the lake was built 1964 68 the intention was to raise the water level in two stages first to 139m then to 150m The second stage would have engulfed the village of Celles which is at a mean altitude of 144m and accordingly the village and its vineyards were officially abandoned The first stage of water level left the water lapping at the foot of the village without encroaching on any structures The second stage was never implemented so a few villagers re occupied the Mairie repairing public buildings in order that the status of Celles as a commune would be preserved However the French authorities are allowing the village to decay and all buildings except the Mairie and the church are in ruins It is a popular place for fishing and picnics In 1990 the city council hoping to move the department to revitalize the village called on the general council owner of the ruins to secure them in the name of public safety The expected result the restoration of the houses actually led to a crystallization action of the village with a concreting of the ridges and laying fences around the houses It was not until 1996 that the department took the official decision to permanently maintain the rating 139 From the beginning some of the former inhabitants fought to maintain the status of commune in Celles and regularly maintained and renovated communal buildings not expropriableThe ruined village has served as a backdrop for several feature film scenes notably the 1985 thriller Zone Rouge Red Zone Possible repopulation editIn September 2017 a scheme was announced for the repopulation of Celles The village will be partially rebuilt connected to the water and telephone systems and 119 people will move in in time for the 50th anniversary of the abandonment September 2019 3 nbsp MapPopulation editHistorical populationYearPop p a 196829 19755 22 21 198210 10 41 199014 4 30 199920 4 04 200922 0 96 201435 9 73 202030 2 54 Source INSEE 4 Politics and administration edit nbsp Town hall of CellesElection Mayor Party Occupation1971 Henri Goudal SE1977198319891995 Joelle Goudal SE Trader200120082014See also editCommunes of the Herault departmentFurther reading editSam Harrison How to Make Sense of an Undrowned Town Atlas Obscura January 20 2020 References edit Repertoire national des elus les maires data gouv fr Plateforme ouverte des donnees publiques francaises in French 2 December 2020 Populations legales 2021 The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies 28 December 2023 Celles le village sauve des eaux du Salagou va renaitre France Bleu Herault 28 September 2017 Population en historique depuis 1968 INSEE nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Celles Herault nbsp This Herault geographical article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Celles Herault amp oldid 1189851786, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
