An ultra-modern bridge overlooking ancient farmlands - The Causses and the Cévennes, Mediterranean agro-pastoral Cultural Landscape 1153; Art of dry stone construction, knowledge and techniques 02106
What and Why
The Causses are a group of limestone plateaus in Southern France. The region is very mountainous with steep valleys and hence human inhabitation and urbanisation is difficult. However the landscape is well suited for pastoralism and the region has since developed a history of nomadic animal husbandry and this persists sporadically until today. Causse itself comes from an Occitan word meaning limestone plateau.
As a result of the undulating landscape, modern transportation across the region becomes difficult and hence the Millau Viaduct (French: Viaduc de Millau) is commissioned to cross the valleys to ease land transportation. Moreover Millau, because of the regional landscape, is also the centre of paragliding in France and attracts even more holiday-goers.
Toponymy
The earliest record of the town shows its name being Condatomagus (contado meaning confluence and magus for market in Gallic). Subsequently the town relocated itself to the opposite bank of the river due to barbarian attacks and renamed itself as Amiliavum in Latin, shortening it to Milhau later. Amiliavum comes from the great Roman patrician family Aemilia.
See
Millau
Other than the massive bridge that overlooks the town, Millau is now a fairly bland town with a small population. The man industry of the town surrounds the few produce of sheep husbandry: goat milk, goat cheese and sheep leather.
The town is a tranquil little town that does not reflect the majesty of the bridge which makes it famous. Clearly there is very little trace of any major animal husbandry inside the town.
Near the town there are farms of cash farms of sunflowers for biofuel industry.
Along the farmland, one can still witness the practice of dry-stonewalling, as the ICH was documented in the earlier blog of Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert.
Millau Viaduct (Viaduc de Millau)
The Millau Viaduct is the tallest bridge in the world and is rightly and consistently ranked as an architectural wonder in many contexts. Designed by the famed architect Norman Foster and French engineer Michel Virlogeux as a gesture of Anglo-French friendship, the massive bridge stands at more than 330 m in height.
As mentioned, the landscape near the region is very mountainous and road traffic has always been bad. To make things worse, the area is a favourite holiday destination for both French and Spanish holiday-goers and hence a conduit was designed to ease off traffic.
Aside from being the tallest bridge, it also carries ther record of the tallest pylon and the highest bridge tower.
There is a good museum at the base of the Millau bridge, which is definitely worth a visit. In one of the presentation boards, it actually tells the story of the Euro notes, and illustrates the note design is based on bridges across Europe, symbolising bridging across nations. The notes are ranked from the earliest bridge in the smallest notes to the highest denomination EUR 500€, which coincidentally is the Millau Viaduct, the bridge representing the modern era.
Buy and Do
While the town is fairly uninteresting in modern touristic terms, it is famous for its sheep products. The town is very famous for its sheepskin gloves and sheep leather. The place is also one of the main production centre of Roquefort cheese and goat milk, again from its local goat ranching history.
Getting There and Around
Clearly one has to drive. Beware there are a large number of traffic accidents around the area, simply because almost all drivers stop inconsiderately to take photographs of the bridge. The town itself is not interesting enough for a prolonged visit.
UNESCO Inscriptions
This 302,319 ha property, in the southern part of central France, is a mountain landscape interspersed by deep valleys that is representative of the relationship between agro-pastoral systems and their biophysical environment, notably through drailles or drove roads. Villages and substantial stone farmhouses on deep terraces of the Causses reflect the organization of large abbeys from the 11th century. Mont Lozère, inside the property, is one of the last places where summer transhumance is still practiced in the traditional way, using the drailles.
The art of dry stone walling concerns the knowhow related to making stone constructions by stacking stones upon each other, without using any other materials except sometimes dry soil. Dry stone structures are spread across most rural areas – mainly in steep terrains – both inside and outside inhabited spaces, though they are not unknown in urban areas. The stability of the structures is ensured through the careful selection and placement of the stones, and dry-stone structures have shaped numerous, diverse landscapes, forming various modes of dwelling, farming and husbandry. Such structures testify to the methods and practices used by people from prehistory to today to organize their living and working space by optimizing local natural and human resources. They play a vital role in preventing landslides, floods and avalanches, and in combating erosion and desertification of the land, enhancing biodiversity and creating adequate microclimatic conditions for agriculture. The bearers and practitioners include the rural communities where the element is deeply rooted, as well as professionals in the construction business. Dry stone structures are always made in perfect harmony with the environment and the technique exemplifies a harmonious relationship between human beings and nature. The practice is passed down primarily through practical application adapted to the particular conditions of each place.
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