Sournia (; ; ) is a commune in 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 ...

department in the Occitanie region of south-western

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 ...

. Its inhabitants are known as Sourniannais.

Geography

Sournia is a town of the

Fenouillèdes Fenouillèdes (; ; ) is a French comarca and a traditional Occitan-speaking area in the '' département'' of Pyrénées-Orientales. The capital of the comarca is Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet (''Sant Pau de Fenolhet''). Fenouillèdes has been part ...

, the

languedoc The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately . History ...

ienne part of the

, in the

canton of La Vallée de l'Agly The canton of La Vallée de l'Agly is an administrative division of the Pyrénées-Orientales department, in southern France. It was created at the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. Its seat is in Rivesaltes. It ...

and in the

arrondissement of Prades The arrondissement of Prades is an arrondissement of France in the Pyrénées-Orientales department (Northern Catalonia) in the Occitanie region. It has 123 communes. Its population is 60,536 (2021), and its area is . Composition The communes ...

. The river Désix runs through the village. Sournia is 22 km from

Ille-sur-Têt Ille-sur-Têt (; ; Catalan language, Catalan: ''Illa'' or ''Illa de Tet'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales Departments of France, département in southern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Illois''. Geography Th ...

and from Vinça, 24 km from Prades and from

Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet (; Languedocien dialect, Languedocien: ''Sant Pau de Fenolhet'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales Departments of France, department in southern France. Geography Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet is ...

, 30 km from

Latour-de-France Latour-de-France (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Latour de France is situated by the original frontier between France and Catalonia. Its military significance ended with the Treaty of the Pyrenees p ...

and 34 km from

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 ...

.
The commune is covered by the quality wine standard AOC 'Côtes-du-Roussillon'.
Sournia is crossed by the long-distance footpath, GR 36. Map commune FR insee code 66198

Administration

The current mayor of Sournia is Paul Blanc, a senator, of the centre-right and right wing party UMP founded by

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...

Population

The population of Sournia in 2017 was 498 people. For some reason at the end of the 19th century, the population of Sournia seemed to have a reputation for having one of the longest

longevity Longevity may refer to especially long-lived members of a population, whereas ''life expectancy'' is defined Statistics, statistically as the average number of years remaining at a given age. For example, a population's life expectancy at birth ...

, even though this fact was not clearly verified. Fabricio Cardenas
Vieux papiers des Pyrénées-Orientales, ''Record de longévité à Sournia en 1897 ''
3 January 2015

Places of interest

* Ruins of the former church of Saint-Michel from the tenth century.Rush, Simon John Nowell (2022), ''The first Romanesque architecture of Conflent, Pyrénées-Orientales, France (66). Tradition, system and style''. [Thesis
Volume 1 (text)
especially pages 126-7; an
Volume 2 (illustrations)
especially Figures 70-87. * The ancient church of Sainte-Félicité from the tenth and eleventh centuries. * Church of Arsa from the twelfth century. Saint-Michel de Sournia 1.jpg, Saint-Michel Sainte-Félicité de Sournia.jpg, Sainte-Félicité Église Saint-Laurent d'Arsa extérieur.jpg, Saint-Laurent d'Arsa Église Saint-Laurent d'Arsa abside.jpg, The apse, Saint-Laurent d'Arsa

References

Communes of Pyrénées-Orientales Fenouillèdes {{PyrénéesOrientales-geo-stub

Geography

Administration

Population

Places of interest

See also

References