Ganges is a commune

Communes of France

The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...

 in the Hérault

Hérault

Hérault is a department in the south of France named after the Hérault river.-History:Hérault is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...

 département in Languedoc-Roussillon

Languedoc-Roussillon

Languedoc-Roussillon is one of the 27 regions of France. It comprises five departments, and borders the other French regions of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Rhône-Alpes, Auvergne, Midi-Pyrénées on the one side, and Spain, Andorra and the Mediterranean sea on the other side.-Geography:The region is...

 in southern France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

Location

Ganges is situated at the confuence of the Hérault and Rieutord rivers.

History

The castle

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

, of which only ruins remain, was the scene of a murder in the 17th century. The beautiful Dianne de Roussan was killed by her husband's brothers, who wanted her large fortune. They were caught and subsequently executed.

Ganges became prosperous from the manufacture of fine silk

Silk

Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...

 stockings during the reign of Louis XIV

Louis XIV of France

Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...

. Natural silk was replaced by artificial, and later by nylon

Nylon

Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides, first produced on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station...

, and cottage industry gave way to factories; half a dozen or so still produce high quality stockings.

In August 1944, German forces unsuccessfully tried to force a way down the Hérault River

Hérault River

The Hérault is a river of southern France. Its length is . Its source is in the Cévennes mountains. It reaches the Mediterranean Sea near Agde...

 valley through Ganges; they were repelled by the defence of the Aigoual-Cévennes maquis

Maquis (World War II)

The Maquis were the predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance. Initially they were composed of men who had escaped into the mountains to avoid conscription into Vichy France's Service du travail obligatoire to provide forced labour for Germany...

.

Things to do

The area around Ganges offers extensive activities, including kayaking, gliding and go-karting.

Miscellaneous

The mobilette was created by a resident of Ganges and a plaque near the old town commemorates this fact.