The Canigó ( ca, Canigó, french: Canigou ; la, mons Canigosus or Canigonis) is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

located in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

of southern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. The Canigó is located less than from the sea and has an elevation of . Due to its sharp flanks and its dramatic location near the coast, until the 18th century the Canigou was believed to be the highest mountain in the

. Being between south and

Northern Catalonia Northern Catalonia, North Catalonia, ; french: Catalogne (du) Nord ; oc, Catalonha (del) Nòrd; es, Cataluña (del) Norte) French Catalonia or Roussillon refers to the Catalan-speaking and Catalan-culture territory ceded to France by Spain t ...

, the mountain has a historical symbolical significance for

Catalan people Catalans (Catalan, French and Occitan: ''catalans''; es, catalanes, Italian: ''catalani'', sc, cadelanos) are a Romance ethnic group native to Catalonia, who speak Catalan. The current official category of "Catalans" is that of the citiz ...

Geography

The Canigó is located in

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 ...

, south of Prades and north of Prats-de-Mollo-la-Preste. Its summit lies on the border between two communes: Vernet-les-Bains and Taurinya (although the territories of two other communes -

Casteil Casteil (; ca, Castell de Vernet) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, part of the historical Conflent comarca. The abbey Martin-du-Canigou is located above Casteil. Geography Localisation Casteil is l ...

and Valmanya - approach quite closely to the summit). Its location makes it visible from the plains of

Roussillon Roussillon ( , , ; ca, Rosselló ; oc, Rosselhon ) is a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of th ...

and from

Conflent Conflent () is a historical Catalan comarca of Northern Catalonia, now part of the French department of Pyrénées-Orientales. In the Middle Ages it comprised the County of Conflent. The capital of this ''pays'' is Prades ( ca, Prada de C ...

, and as well from

Empordà Emporda (from the official name in ca, Empordà, , name in es, Ampurdán, ) is a natural and historical region of Catalonia, Spain, divided since 1936 into two '' comarques'', Alt Empordà and Baix Empordà. The city of Figueres, an important ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. Twice a year, in early February and at the end of October, with good weather, the Canigó can be seen at sunset from as far as

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fran ...

, away, by

refraction In physics, refraction is the redirection of a wave as it passes from one medium to another. The redirection can be caused by the wave's change in speed or by a change in the medium. Refraction of light is the most commonly observed phenomen ...

of light. This phenomenon was observed in 1808 by baron Franz Xaver von Zach from the

Notre-Dame de la Garde Notre-Dame de la Garde (literally: Our Lady of the Guard), known to local citizens as ''la Bonne Mère'' (French for 'the Good Mother'), is a Catholic basilica in Marseille, France, and the city's best-known symbol. The site of a popular Assump ...

basilica in Marseille. All year long, it can also be seen, with good weather, from

Agde Agde (; ) is a commune in the Hérault department in Southern France. It is the Mediterranean port of the Canal du Midi. Location Agde is located on the Hérault river, from the Mediterranean Sea, and from Paris. The Canal du Midi ...

Port-Camargue Port-Camargue is a district of the town of Le Grau-du-Roi, in the Gard department in the administrative region of Occitanie. Built in the 1960s, it is today one of the biggest marinas in Europe. History In 1963, the Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc ...

and the

Montagne Noire The Montagne Noire ( oc, Montanha Negra, 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 departm ...

Trekking and sightseeing

Jeep tracks on the north side of the massif lead to the Chalet des Cortalets (at 2150 m) which is a popular outpost with walkers. There are two ancient monasteries at the foot of the mountain,

Martin-du-Canigou The abbey of Saint-Martin-du-Canigou (Catalan: ''Sant Martí del Canigó'') is a monastery built in 1009 in the Pyrenees of Northern Catalonia on Canigou mountain in present-day southern near the Spanish border. Pau Casals wrote a composition e ...

and

Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa The abbey of Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa () is a Benedictine abbey located in the territory of the commune of Codalet, in the Pyrénées-Orientales ''département'', in southwestern France. It was founded initially in 840, and then refounded at its prese ...

Canigó Flame

The mountain has symbolical significance for

. On its summit stands a cross that is often decorated with the Catalan flag. Every year on 23 June, the night before St. John's day (''nit de Sant Joan''), there is a ceremony called ''Flama del Canigó''. French Catalans carry a flaming torch 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 ...

to the cross and the Catalonian flag on top of the mountain, and people light bonfires throughout the area.

Literature

The Canigó inspired the epic poem "Canigó" by Catalan poet

Jacint Verdaguer i Santaló Jacint Verdaguer i Santaló (; 17 May 1845 – 10 June 1902) was a Catalan / Spanish writer, regarded as one of the greatest poets of Catalan literature and a prominent literary figure of the Renaixença, a cultural revival movement of the ...

. In these verses Verdaguer compares the snowy mountain to a

Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...

flower (pages 27–28): 500ptes

While he was staying in Vernet-les-Bains in 1911, Kipling wrote about Canigou. In a letter to the Club Alpin, he praised it as a " magician among mountains". Kipling also wrote a light-hearted short story entitled ''Why Snow Falls at Vernet''. It makes fun of the English habit of always talking about the weather.

Notes

References

Canigó by Verdaguer; Full text - Wikitext

External links

Canigo.cat
All information about the Canigou massif: nature, culture and itineraries (in Catalan) {{Authority control Mountains of the Pyrenees Catalan symbols Mountains of Pyrénées-Orientales