- Maureillas-las-Illas
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Maureillas-las-Illas
Maureillas-las-IllasAdministration Country France Region Languedoc-Roussillon Department Pyrénées-Orientales Arrondissement Céret Canton Céret Intercommunality Vallespir Mayor André Bordaneil
(2008–2014)Statistics Elevation 78–1,320 m (256–4,330 ft)
(avg. 154 m/505 ft)Land area1 42.10 km2 (16.25 sq mi) Population2 2,546 (2006) - Density 60 /km2 (160 /sq mi) INSEE/Postal code 66106/ 66480 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: 42°29′29″N 2°48′39″E / 42.4913888889°N 2.81083333333°E
Maureillas-las-Illas (Catalan: Morellàs i les Illes) is a rural commune in the Vallespir, Pyrénées-Orientales in the south of France. The town belongs to the Communauté de communes of Vallespir uniting Maureillas-las-Illas with Céret, Saint-Jean-Pla-de-Corts, Reynès and Le Boulou.
Contents
History of Maureillas
Recently the dolmen of Siuréda[1] was still hidden by a thick vegetation but its discovery shows that the prehistoric man of Chalcolithic, roughly 3500 to 1700 BC, lived in the hills above Maureillas.
The history of Maureillas as a city goes back to antiquity. Founded by the Romans as a small settlement, the village remained small until the Charlemagne conquest Saracens in 811.
The first mention of the village under the name "Maurelianum" is in 1011. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but it seems it should bring the prefix "Moor" as Saracens invader remained a few decades in the region.
In the Middle Ages the village grew around the church of Saint Etienne, built in the 10th century. In 1400, residents built a new chapel outside the walls of the village. It was dedicated to Saint John of Mauranells.
Maureillas was a place of residence for the powerful Oms family, but there is no remains left of the possessions of this family. However the village of Les Cluses belongs to them since the 7th century.
The commune of Saint-Martin de Fenollar is merged to Maureillas in 1823. And in 1972 it was the turn of the villages of Las Illas and Riunoguès.[2]
Las Illas is in the deep confines of a valley to the Col of Panissars, right at the border with Spain, and the Trophy of Pompey. This is the second most southern town in mainland France after Lamanère. In the ninth century, the passage was so important that the clergy of Arles-sur-Tech built a church dedicated to Notre Dame du Remède there. It was bequeathed to the monastery of Ripoll in the eleventh century, who built a priory.
Las-Illas was notorious in the nineteenth century to the groups of outlaws who took refuge in the surrounding caves, the famous Trabucayres.
The Trabucayres
The Trabucayres are famous mountain outlaws, bands of individuals who, on behalf of social banditry, political or foul, robbed, kidnapped, and ransomed diligences, owners and farmers from 1837 to 1846. The name comes from the Catalan word "Trabuc" a short-barreled shotgun used at that time.
Despite their cruelty, the Trabucayres were treated as avengers to social injustice. This feeling was strengthened because their crimes were addressed to the "bourgeois." In addition, Trabucayres preceded their acts with religious rituels to absolve them from all sin, thus reinforcing their popularity among common people. The legend is still alive and a source of pride among border populations[3].
Heritage of Maureillas
The Roman Churches
Cultivation of Cork Oak
The Museum of Cork Oak of Maureillas, unveils the rich cork oak culture of the Vallespir forest. The tree forms a thick, rugged and corky bark. Over time this bark can develop considerable thickness and this can be harvested every 9 to 12 years as cork. The harvesting of cork is done entirely without machinery and does not harm the tree and a new layer of cork regrows, making it a renewable resource. Cork Oaks live about 150 to 250 years.[4] Virgin cork (or 'male' cork) is the first cork cut from generally 25-year-old trees. Another 9 to 12 years is required for the second harvest, and a tree can be harvested twelve times in its lifetime.
Great hikes around Maureillas
Gallery
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Cork Museum of Maureillas.
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Cork Oak, at the base the dark reddish bark left after harvesting is visible.
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Close-up at the margin of the harvest.
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Harvested cork.
See also
- Communes of the Pyrénées-Orientales department
- Hiking in the Pyrénées-Orientales
References
- ^ http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=9672
- ^ http://histoireduroussillon.free.fr/Villages/Histoire/Maureillas.php
- ^ http://www.cg66.fr/institution/chartes/vallespir/haut_vallespir.html
- ^ Abigail Hole, Michael Grosberg and Daniel Robinson, 2007
Categories:- Communes of Pyrénées-Orientales
- Pyrénées-Orientales
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