- Cournonterral
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Cournonterral
Tower and Sainte-Croix church Administration Country France Region Languedoc-Roussillon Department Hérault Arrondissement Montpellier Canton Pignan Intercommunality Montpellier Mayor M. Thierry Breysse
(2001–2008)Statistics Elevation 29–320 m (95–1,050 ft) Land area1 28.62 km2 (11.05 sq mi) Population2 5,069 (1999) - Density 177 /km2 (460 /sq mi) INSEE/Postal code 34088/ 34660 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. Coordinates: 43°33′32″N 3°43′12″E / 43.5588888889°N 3.72°E
Cournonterral is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France. Residents are known as Cournonterralais.
Festival
The town is famous for an annual festival known as Pailhasses. The festival has taken place in Cournonterral every Ash Wednesday since 1346. In that year, residents held off rivals from their neighbouring village, thus putting an end to a long dispute over gathering firewood. Since that time, Cournonterral residents have relived the event every year. The Paillasses (people in straw-stuffed tops) chase 'the white men' through the streets of the town with old rags and tissue soaked in wine sediment. The 'white men' come from the town of Aumelas. [1]
See also
References
Categories:- Communes of Hérault
- Hérault geography stubs
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