Bize-Minervois is a
commune in the
Aude
Aude ( ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Southern France, located in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region and named after the river Aude (river), Aude. The departmental council also calls it " ...
department in southern
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
Geography
Located on the edge of the Haut-Minervois in the
Cesse valley, Bize lies between the fertile sedimentary plain of
Narbonne
Narbonne ( , , ; ; ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and was ...
and the
causses
The Causses () are a group of limestone plateaux (700–1,200 m) in the Massif Central. They are bordered to the north-west by the Limousin (région), Limousin and the Périgord uplands, and to the east by the Aubrac and the Cévennes. Large river ...
of the
Minervois and the
Montagne Noire
The Montagne Noire (; , known as the 'Black Mountain' in English) is a mountain range in central southern France. It is located at the southwestern end of the Massif Central at the juncture of the Tarn, Hérault and Aude departments. Its highe ...
. Bize is situated approximately 3 km north of the D5 between
Olonzac and
Capestang. Bize is a small village with a population approximately 1,200 where 19% of the houses are second homes.
History
Bize is first mentioned in 911 in the will of man named Walcharius who left the lands of the parish of
Saint-Saturnin of Bizan to the
Archbishop of Narbonne. During the
religious wars of the 16th century Bize changed hands many times and in 1573 was fortified as a
protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
stronghold against the
catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
Bishops of Narbonne.
Population
Sights
*Caves Las Fonts (Moulin) -
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...
caves, now a classified monument where
prehistoric
Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...
remains were discovered in 1827 by French archaeologist and scientist Paul Tournal, founder of the Narbonne Museum.
*La Porte Saint Michel 1236 - the main gate in to the village coming from the direction of Narbonne. A second gate, La Porte St Croix - the entrance from the direction
Argeliers,
Minerve and
Saint-Pons - was demolished in the 19th century to allow easier passage for carts.
*The church of Saint-Michel (18th century)
Events
* 'Fete d l'olivier' - Festival of Olives is held annually in July
Le Minervois : historic region in the Languedoc
* General market every Wednesday morning throughout the year
Amenities
Bize has two bakers, two general stores, a post office, hairdressers, a pharmacy, and a wine cave
Underground Wine cellars are subterranean structures for the storage (wine), storage and the aging of wine. They are an essential part of the global wine industry. The construction of wine caves involves specialized underground building techni ...
. There is also a bar and several restaurants.
Sporting facilities include a boulodrome, football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
pitches (home of Bize FC), tennis
Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
courts and in the summer the Cesse is dammed to create a freshwater swimming hole
A swimming hole is a place in a river, stream, stream, creek, spring (hydrosphere), spring, or similar natural body of water, which is large enough and deep enough for a person to human swimming, swim in. Common usage usually refers to freshwate ...
.
See also
*Communes of the Aude department
The following is a list of the 433 Communes of France, communes of the Aude Departments of France, department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following Communes of France#Intercommunality, intercommunalities (as of 2025):
References
External links
The official website of Bize-Minervois
Communes of Aude
{{Aude-geo-stub