Inline videos. See also:Category: Articles with embedded Videos..

Pyrénées-Orientales

From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.

Pyrénées-Orientales
Details
Information
Number	66
Region	Languedoc-Roussillon
Prefecture	Perpignan
Subprefecture	Céret Prades
Population - Total (1999) - Density	Ranked 57th 392 803 95 /km²
Area	4,115 km²;
Arrondissements	3
Cantons	31
Communes	226
President of the general council	Christian Bourquin
Location

Pyrénées-Orientales (Eastern Pyrenees) is a département of southern France adjacent to the northern Spanish frontier and the Mediterranean Sea.

Contents

[edit]

History

Pyrénées-Orientales corresponds largely to the former province of Roussillon (French Catalonia), which it replaced in 1790. See also: Cerdagne.

For history to 1790, see Roussillon.

Invaded by Spain in April 1793, the area was recaptured thirteen months later.

[edit]

Administration

Pyrénées-Orientales is grouped with neighbouring Aude and three other départements to the north-east in the region of Languedoc-Roussillon.

[edit]

Geography

Pyrénées-Orientales has an area of 4115 sq. km. and a population of 400,000, of whom just over a quarter live in the capital, Perpignan (Catalan Perpinyà). Other towns include Argelès-sur-Mer, Thuir, Elne (the ancient Illiberis) and Prades (Catalan Prada de Conflent), each of 6-10,000 inhabitants.

Pyrénées-Orientales consists of three river valleys in the Pyrenees mountain range - from north to south, those of the Agly, Têt and Tech - and the eastern Plain of Roussillon into which they converge. Most of the population and agricultural production are concentrated in the plain, with only 30% of the area.

The upper Tech valley comprises the département's westernmost third, with just over a tenth of the total population. To the south-east, the Têt valley and the Côte Vermeille contain nearly 100,000 inhabitants. The Agly basin in the north-east has much in common with neighboring areas of Aude.

[edit]

Economy

Pyrénées-Orientales is a wine-growing area and a tourist destination.

[edit]

Demographics

The Catalan language is estimated to be spoken by rather more than a quarter of the population and understood by more than 40%.

[edit]

Culture

Places of interest include:

Prades (Catalan Prada de Conflent) - site of the Catalan Summer University (Universitat Catalana d'Estiu).
Banyuls-sur-Mer (Catalan Banyuls de la Marenda) famous for its Muscat wine, birth place of Aristide Maillol.
Prats de Molló - important defensive castle of the 17th century facing south to the Pyrenees.
Salses - important defensive castle of the 16th century, on the ancient frontier with Spain.

Départements of France
01 \| 02 \| 03 \| 04 \| 05 \| 06 \| 07 \| 08 \| 09 \| 10 \| 11 \| 12 \| 13 \| 14 \| 15 \| 16 \| 17 \| 18 \| 19 \| 2A \| 2B \| 21 \| 22 \| 23 \| 24 \| 25 \| 26 \| 27 \| 28 \| 29 \| 30 \| 31 \| 32 \| 33 \| 34 \| 35 \| 36 \| 37 \| 38 \| 39 \| 40 \| 41 \| 42 \| 43 \| 44 \| 45 \| 46 \| 47 \| 48 \| 49 \| 50 \| 51 \| 52 \| 53 \| 54 \| 55 \| 56 \| 57 \| 58 \| 59 \| 60 \| 61 \| 62 \| 63 \| 64 \| 65 \| 66 \| 67 \| 68 \| 69 \| 70 \| 71 \| 72 \| 73 \| 74 \| 75 \| 76 \| 77 \| 78 \| 79 \| 80 \| 81 \| 82 \| 83 \| 84 \| 85 \| 86 \| 87 \| 88 \| 89 \| 90 \| 91 \| 92 \| 93 \| 94 \| 95
Les DOM-TOM: 971 \| 972 \| 973 \| 974 \| 975 \| 976 \| 986 \| 987 \| 988 \| French Southern Territories \| Îles Éparses
Administrative divisions of France: régions - *départements* - arrondissements - cantons - communes