Bourg-Madame (; ca, La Guingueta d'Ix) is a commune in the

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 Sea. ...

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, ...

in southern France.

Geography

Localisation

Bourg-Madame is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement of Prades. It lies right on the border with Spain. It abuts directly onto the Spanish town of

Puigcerdà Puigcerdà (; es, Puigcerdá) is the capital of the '' Catalan comarca'' of Cerdanya, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, northern Spain, near the Segre River and on the border with France (it abuts directly onto the French town of Bourg- ...

, and is near the Spanish

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

of Llívia. Map commune FR insee code 66025

Toponymy

The town used to be known in French as ''Les Guinguettes'',Jtosti.com
/ref> until 1815 when it was renamed Bourg-Madame in honour of the wife of the Duke of Angoulême. The Catalan name for the town is still the traditional one.

History

In the 20th century Bourg-Madame was the site of a camp housing Republican escapees from Spain at the end of the Spanish Civil War.

Government and politics

Mayors

Transport

Roads

The following major roads lead to Bourg-Madame: * N-20 from Ur to the north; * N-154 and D-68 from the Spanish enclave Llívia to the northeast; * N-116 from

Saillagouse Saillagouse (; ca, Sallagosa) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. The inhabitants are called ''Saillagousains''. Geography Saillagouse is in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondisseme ...

to the east; * D-30 and D-70 from

Osséja Osséja (; ca, Oceja) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Osséja is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement of Prades. Osséja station has rail connections ...

and Palau-de-Cerdagne to the southeast; * N-152 from

to the west.

Railways

Bourg-Madame is located at a key point of intersection for railways that link Toulouse, Barcelona, and Valencia (as well as

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 east via the Yellow Train). The railway station is located in the Arena district.

Population

International relations

The commune is twinned with: *

Vespella de Gaià Vespella de Gaià is a municipality in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statut ...

, Spain

References

Communes of Pyrénées-Orientales France–Spain border crossings {{PyrénéesOrientales-geo-stub