L'Hospitalet-près-l'Andorre (, literally ''L'Hospitalet near the

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

''; oc, L'Espitalet) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the Ariège

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of southwestern

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 ...

. L'Hospitalet-près-l'Andorre literally translates to "The Hospital Near Andorra". The area has a history of vulnerability to winter avalanches: one such in 1895 killed 12 (nearly 10% of the commune's population at the time), and much destruction was also caused in 1906 and 1929.Risques avalanches . Notice sur les avalanches constatées et leur environnement, tp://avalanchesftp.grenoble.cemagref.fr/epaclpa/notices_par_massif/orlusaintbartelemy.pdf Avalanches have from time to time blocked the N20, the main road through the commune, the most recent case being in 2008.L'Hospitalet. La RN 20 coupée à cause d'une avalanche, 17 Dec 2008

Transport

The

Andorre-L'Hospitalet station Andorre-L'Hospitalet (before 2008: ''L'Hospitalet-près-l'Andorre'') is a railway station in L'Hospitalet-près-l'Andorre, Occitanie, France. The station is on the Portet-Saint-Simon–Puigcerdà railway and was opened on 22 July 1929. The stati ...

– served by

TER Occitanie TER Occitanie or liO TER Occitanie is the regional rail network serving the region of Occitanie, southern France. It is operated by the French national railway company SNCF. It was formed in 2017 from the previous TER networks TER Languedoc-Rous ...

regional trains between

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

and

Latour-de-Carol Latour-de-Carol (; ca, La Tor de Querol) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Localization Latour-de-Carol is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement of Prades ...

and the overnight ''Intercités de nuit'' service between

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and Latour-de-Carol – is an important international transport node for the nearby principality of

, to which the station is connected by a bus link.

Local government

The village has a

Mairie In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

from which local government is organised. There is an elected mayor. The office is currently held by Arnaud Diaz. L'Hospitalet parish church

Community facilities

There is a hotel in the village centre, the Hôtel du Puymorens, which has both a bar and a restaurant open to non-residents, and available to local residents. There is also a small guest house in the main street, operated as part of the French

Gîte A gîte () is a type of accommodation that comes in a variety of forms, ranging from a gîtes d'etape, a hostel, for walkers and cyclists, to a gîte rural, a holiday home in the country available for rent, often an accessory dwelling unit. The te ...

s system, with a small shop for essential supplies. There are few businesses trading in the village, although there is a small engineering company. There is a primary school, whose buildings include a residential youth centre for visiting groups. A school bus visits L'Hospitalet daily to transport older children to secondary school.

Religion

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

is the only organised religion in the community. There is a parish church, with churchyard, in the main street. Although the village has no resident priest, services are held regularly.

Population

References

External links

L'Hospitalet-près-l'Andorre on French IGN mapping portal

L'Hospitalet-près-l'Andorre Official Village website

Trophée de l’Isard race page
Communes of Ariège (department) Ariège communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia {{Ariège-geo-stub