Argelès-sur-Mer (, literally ''Argelès on Sea''; ca, Argelers de la Marenda or ; oc, Argelers de Mar), commonly known as Argelès, is a commune in the

Pyrénées-Orientales Pyrénées-Orientales (; ca, Pirineus Orientals ; oc, Pirenèus Orientals ; ), also known as Northern Catalonia, is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France, adjacent to the northern Spanish frontier and the Mediterranean Sea ...

department in the

administrative region Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

Occitania Occitania ( oc, Occitània , , or ) is the historical region in Western and Southern Europe where the Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes still used as a second language. This cultural area roughly encompasse ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is about 25 km from

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...

Geography

Argelès-sur-Mer is located in the

canton of La Côte Vermeille The canton of La Côte Vermeille is a canton of France, in the Pyrénées-Orientales department. Its chief town is Argelès-sur-Mer (before 2015: Port-Vendres). Composition At the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015 ...

and in the

arrondissement of Céret The arrondissement of Céret is an arrondissement of France in the Pyrénées-Orientales department (Northern Catalonia) in the Occitanie region. It has 64 communes. Its population is 129,464 (2016), and its area is . Composition The communes of ...

. Argelès-sur-Mer is on the Côte Vermeille at the foot of the Albères mountain range, close to the Spanish border. It has the longest beach in the Pyrenées Orientales. Map commune FR insee code 66008

History

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Argelès-sur-Mer was the location of a

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

, where up to 100,000 defeated Spanish Republicans were interned next to a windy beach in abysmal sanitary conditions by the French government after the defeat of the Spanish Republic. The refugees streamed to the camp from the winter of 1938/39 after the collapse of the Catalan front following the rebel offensive.

Government and politics

Mayors

1815 - Signature Maire d'Argelès Paul Pujas

Population and society

Demography

Education

Sports

Étoile sportive catalane L'Étoile sportive catalane is a rugby union club based in France at Argelès-sur-Mer. It plays in Fédérale 2, the fourth level of French rugby union. History The club was founded in 1912 as Union sportive argelésienne, in 1921, became Greno ...

is the

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

club of Argelès-sur-Mer.

Culture

Sites of interest

;Buildings * Dolmen of the Collets de Cotlliure (

Monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a col ...

) * Dolmen of the Cova de l'Alarb (Monument historique) * Dolmen of Sant Pere dels Forquets * Chapel of Saint-Jérôme d'Argelès, from the 10th century * Church of Saint-Ferréol de la Pava (Monument historique), from the 10th century * Parish church of Notre-Dame del Prat, from the 14th to the 20th centuries (Monument historique) * Church of Sainte-Marie de Torreneules, from the 8th to the 10th centuries * Abbey of Valbonne, from the 13th to the 14th centuries * Church of Saint-Laurent-du-Mont, from the 12th century (Monument historique) * Church of Saint-Martin-et-Sainte-Croix, from the 11th or 12th century, and the old village of Taxo d'Avall (both Monument historique) * Church of Saint-Pierre dels Forquets, pre-romanesque ruins * Castle of Pujols, from the 13th century (Monument historique) * Massane tower, in the

Albera Massif The Albera Massif ( ca, Serra de l'Albera) (french: Massif des Albères) is a mountain range located in the south of Pyrénées-Orientales and the north of Catalonia, between France and Spain. It is the main easternmost prolongation of the Pyrene ...

, from the 13th century * Castle of Valmy, from the 19th century * Casa de l'Albera, museum about the Albera Massif ;Natural sites * National nature reserve of the Mas Larrieu * National nature reserve of the Massane forest * The ''Bois des pins'' is the historical pine forest located near the beach front. Created in the 1860s by the General Council of the Pyrénées-Orientales, it still has to this day over 8,000 centenarian pines.

Notable people

Marcelle Narbonne French supercentenarians are citizens, residents or emigrants from France who have attained or surpassed 110 years of age. , the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) had validated the longevity claims of 161 French supercentenarians. France was hom ...

(1898-2012) : supercentenarian who lived and died in Argelès-sur-Mer. * David Ensor (1906-1987) : British lawyer, actor, author and Labour Party politician, lived and died in Argelès-sur-Mer. *

Marc Lièvremont Marc Lièvremont (born 28 October 1968) is a former rugby union footballer and was the head coach of the French national rugby union team. He played as a back-row forward for France, gaining 25 caps from 1995 to 1999, and was selected in France's ...

(1968-) : former rugby union footballer raised in Argelès-sur-Mer and former member of the

club.

References

External links

Town council website

Information in Catalan Encyclopaedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Argelessurmer Communes of Pyrénées-Orientales Northern Catalonia Seaside resorts in France