Latour-de-France (; ca, La Tor de França) 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

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 in southern

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 ...

. Latour de France is situated by the original frontier between

and

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

. Its military significance ended with the

Treaty of the Pyrenees The Treaty of the Pyrenees (french: Traité des Pyrénées; es, Tratado de los Pirineos; ca, Tractat dels Pirineus) was signed on 7 November 1659 on Pheasant Island, and ended the Franco-Spanish War that had begun in 1635. Negotiations were ...

peace between

Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Versa ...

and

Philip IV of Spain Philip IV ( es, Felipe, pt, Filipe; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered f ...

that ended the Franco-Spanish War of 1648–59 but is still evinced in street names such as place de l’hôpital and place d’Armes. This village of approximately 1,000 inhabitants has its own Appellation Contrôlée associated with the forward-looking cave co-operative, a garage, pharmacy, post office, primary school, bakers, two restaurant / bars, a small grocery store and a blacksmith. There are two tennis courts, a skate park (new in 2018), a children's playground, and several locations used by petanque enthusiasts. At its perimeter, there is a mix of ancient and modern while the old central village is a labyrinth of narrow streets. Thirty years ago, in common with many villages, there were a fair number of derelict properties. These have virtually disappeared having been renovated for the most part by local families. Latour de France is now home to a growing number of foreign residents including families from Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany and Norway. There are many well-mapped walking and biking trails through the

vineyards A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

with points of interest such as derelict chapels and mines, along with views of the mountains. The village is twinned with

Port Erin Port Erin ( gv, Purt Çhiarn, meaning ''lord's port'') is a seaside village in the south-west of the Isle of Man, in the historic parish of Rushen. It was previously a seaside resort before the decline of the tourist trade. Administratively it ...

in the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

Geography

Latour-de-France is located 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 c ...

and in the

arrondissement of Perpignan An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements'' ...

Toponymy

Latour-de-France is called ''La Tor de França'' in

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

and ''La Tor de Trinhac'' or ''La Tor de Fenolledes'' in

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language Occitan (; o ...

.Jean Sagnes (dir.), Le pays catalan, t. 2, Pau, Société nouvelle d'éditions régionales, 1985 The first known name is ''Turris Triniago'' in 1020 (tower of Triniach). The name ''Tor de Fenolledés'' appears in 1423 (tower of the

Fenouillèdes Fenouillèdes (; oc, Fenolhedés/Fenolheda; ca, Fenolledès/Fenolleda) 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 Pa ...

). This name will remain until the 18th century. ''La Tour de France'' appears in 1750 and is the name used today.

Population

Sites of interest

The village is dominated by a castle which has its origins in the 11th century, but most of the present structure is from the 16th and 17th centuries. It stands at the highest point of the village, perched on a hill overlooking three valleys. * Saint Martin chapel, from the 13th century.

References

External links