Puilaurens (, also non-officially: ''Lapradelle-Puilaurens''; ) is a commune in the

Aude Aude ( ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Southern France, located in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region and named after the river Aude (river), Aude. The departmental council also calls it " ...

department in southern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It includes the hamlets of Lapradelle, Puilaurens and Lavignac. It is known for the medieval Puilaurens Castle.

Geography

The commune is situated on the Boulzane river and the Green Meridian.

History

The built-up area of Lapradelle did not exist until the 19th century and owes its development to activities related to water power taken from the Boulzane: textile spinning and

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

s. In 1904, a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

was constructed from

Quillan Quillan (; Languedocien: ''Quilhan'') is a commune in the Aude department in southern France. On 1 January 2016, the former commune of Brenac was merged into Quillan. Geography Quillan is located at the foothills of the Pyrenees, on the roa ...

Rivesaltes Rivesaltes (; , which means the ''high shores'') is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Rivesaltes is in the canton of La Vallée de l'Agly and in the arrondissement of Perpignan. Politics and ...

(the

Carcassonne - Rivesaltes Line Carcassonne is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, region of Occitania. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic Period, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the Aude between historic trade routes ...

) passing through Lapradelle on a

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide ...

spanning the valley of the Boulzane. The line carried passengers until 1939. Afterwards it was used to transport

feldspar Feldspar ( ; sometimes spelled felspar) is a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagiocl ...

between the

and the

Pyrénées-Orientales Pyrénées-Orientales (; ; ; ), also known as Northern Catalonia, is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France, adjacent to the northern Spain, Spanish ...

, the railway line is today used in the summer for a tourist train, running between

Axat Axat (; ''Atsat'' in Occitan language, Occitan) is a Communes of France, commune in the Aude Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie region of southern France. Geography Axat is located in Cathar c ...

and

. In 1868, Puilaurens lost the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

s of Salvezines and

Le Caunil Le Caunil is a hamlet in the Aude department of the Occitanie region in France. It forms part of the commune of Salvezines. Geography Le Caunil is situated at 850 metres above sea level, on the slopes of the Pyrenees above Salvezines and a ...

, established as the separate commune of

Salvezines Salvezines (; ) is a commune in the Aude département in southern France.Commune de Salve ...

Population

Its inhabitants are called ''Puilaurenois''.

References

Communes of Aude Aude communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia {{Aude-geo-stub

Geography

History

Population

See also

References