120 000 BC
Some nomads tribes live on the place (attested by the discovery of primitives tools as the
'biface lancéolé')
5000/1800 BC
First sedentary inhabitants on the Béziers' hill
600 BC
Construction of the Ensérune Oppidum.
600/500 BC
Construction by the Greeks of the first Béziers/Betara city (more than 40 hectares (480,000 sq. yard) !)
around 400 BC
Total Blackout : The city seems to be deserted (epidemics ?)
350/281 BC
Volces occupation.
219/218 BC
Hannibal passing
200 BC
Gallic Longostaletes settlement
121/118 BC
Construction of the Domitian way
105 BC
Kimris army and Teutons occupation
31/36 BC
Béziers become the Julia baeterrae Roman colony
77
Viticultural crisis and vineyard destroyed
80
Construction of the Roman Amphitheater
around 250
Saint Aphrodise is beheaded - Construction of the firsts remparts
355
Council (conciliabule), probably in the first church St Aphrodise, about the
Arian heresy (against St Hilaire de Poitiers)
around 500
The IVth century ancient Romana necroplolis (St Aphrodise) shelters St Aphrodise's body and his devoted
680
The Biterrois support rebellion against the king Wamba
724-725
Saracenic occupation (under Ambessa rules - vineyard destroyed - churches sacked
736-737
Francs occupation (Charles Martel) - Fortifications destroyed.
around 800
Construction of the St Jacques church
889
Enlargement of St Nazaire - the St Aphrodise church is in abandonment
beginning 900
St Aphrodise church restoration
beginning 1000
Construction of the Sainte Madeleine church
around 1090
Construction of the Saint Félix church
1130
St Nazaire church becomes a cathedral (roman parts)
october 15th 1167
Assassination of Raimond Trencavel the 1st inside the Madeleine church
XIIth century
Construction of the Old Bridge (on the ancient roman bridge's bases)
july 22th 1209
Béziers is burnt by the Simon de Montfort's army. The Madeleine and St Nazaire churches are burnt too.
1215
St Nazaire is rebuilt.
1229
The region passes under French kingdom rules.
1348
Black death epidemic
1355
The British are attempting an invasion (Prince of Wales)
september 8th 1381
People revolt (the Bernard Pourquier's one) against the notables
1391
the Old Bridge is repaired
april 1436
Black Death epidemic
january 1420-august 21
Rebellion against the dauphin Charles
1471
Old Bridge enlargement
february 1506
Great cold wave : the Orb river and the Capestang mere are frozen
1528
François 1er creates the seneschalsy
august 13th 1533
François 1er, his wife Eléonore, their children, the king and the queen of Navarre stay for a while in Béziers
1543
A peddler is burnt to have sold heretic books
1556
Establishing of the Friday market by the Seneschal Philippe de Levis
1561-1562
Protestants occupation
décember 29th 1564
Charles IX (14 years old) and Catherine de Médicis spend a few days in Béziers (the mother queen is accommodated to the hôtel de Sorgues, 7 Mayran street). They can see the traditional spectacle : the galleys fight (with wheels) on the Carmes place (Victory place today)
1585
The Duc de Montmorency is building the Citadelle (on the actual place Jean Jaurès)
june 29th 1609
Birth of Pierre-Paul Riquet
july 18th 1622
Louis XIII spend three weeks/a month in Béziers.
He lodges in the bishopric
1629-1631
Black Death epidemic
1632
Henry 2 de Montmorency's rebellion then writing of the Edit de Béziers with the king, the queen and Richelieu. Destruction of the Citadelle
1656
Molière creates and play in Béziers "Le Dépit Amoureux"
january 3rd 1660
Visit of Louis XIV
october 1st 1680
Pierre-Paul Riquet dies in Toulouse
may 24th 1681
Inauguration of the Canal du Midi - Fonseranes' festivities
1695-1700
Building of St Jacques' barracks
1709
Re-establishment of the friday market by Louis XIV
1722
Black Death epidemic
july 9th 1745
Little earthquake + one more 2 days later
1746
The city hall's central part is inaugurated
january 1790
The first street lamps illuminate the city !
may 17th 1792
The Caritat (charity) feasts become the Freedom feasts
may 19th 1803
The Caritat feasts come back
may 30th 1814
Riots against alcohol' taxes
1827
Battlements destruction
1830
Riots against alcohol' taxes (again...)
1838
Paul Riquet's statue and Old Graveyard inauguration
april 1844
Discovery of 10 roman marble heads (kept in a Toulouse museum...)
1842-1844
Construction of the Theatre
april 1846
Inauguration of the Pont-Neuf (new bridge) (the work had began in 1841)
december 3rd-6th 1851
Republicans fight against Louis Napoléon Bonaparte's coup d'etat (bloody repression)
1857
The railroad arrives and inauguration of the
Gare du Midi on april 22th - Bridge-canal on the Orb river
1870
End of the Allées P.Riquet and Poets square installations
1874
Inauguration of the railroad of
the Gare du Nord which serves the hinterland. (it was to the left of the current 'Nouvelle Poste')
1882
Construction of the "Caisse d'Epargne" (a bank avenue Clémenceau)
1889-1891
Construction of the Halles
1894-1896
Construction of the National Street (Alphonse Mas) and Republic Street
1897
Construction of the Arenas
june 20th 1899
Jean Moulin's birth
july 2nd 1905
Assembly against viticultural crisis
mars 24th 1907
1851 casualties' monument
may 12 1907
Meetings and assemblies against viticultural crisis
1912
Post Office construction (close to the city hall)
october 17th 1914
The whole city wait - at the station - for the come back of a country child's - G. de Montal - corpse, hurt at war on september 26th 1914 and died in the Chambéry's hospital. The whole population stays at obsequies
december 26th 1940
First resistants under arrest
november 11th 1942
German troops arrival
june 7th 1944
18 resistants shot by the Germans on the Champ de Mars
july 5th 1944
German bombing
august 5th 1944
Anglo-American bombing
august 22th 1944
Béziers is liberated
1952
Construction of the sub-prefecture
december 3rd 1947
Strikes and incidents all around the City Hall
1961
ASB becomes champion of the French Rugby cup
1962
North Africa repatriated's arrival
1963
Construction of the Devèze
1964
Swimming pool's inauguration
1986
Occitanie bridge' Inauguration
1987
Mediterranean Stadium' Inauguration
1994
Installation of the New Port - Construction of the l'IUT (University technical institute)
1995
New hospital in Montimaran
1998
CIRDOC building - University center of Dugesclin
2005
Destruction of the
old barracks (located on the place of the Médiathèque)
2010
Connecting the A75 with the A9 - Inauguration of the Polygon
2014
Destruction of the Cité Million and the old post office
2015
Commissioning of the new roundabout 'Tressol'
2018
New Palais de Justice in front of the Polygon
2019
Ring road becomes a 2x2 ways
