Mont-Louis (; or ''el Vilar d'Ovansa'') 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 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 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 ...

Geography

Mont-Louis is located in the

canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes The canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes 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 Prades. It c ...

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 59,828 (2016), and its area is . Composition The communes of ...

Mont-Louis-La Cabanasse station Mont-Louis-La Cabanasse is a railway station in Mont-Louis, Occitanie, southern France. Within TER Occitanie TER Occitanie or liO TER Occitanie is the regional rail network serving the region of Occitanie, southern France. It is operated by ...

has rail connections to Villefranche-de-Conflent and Latour-de-Carol. Map commune FR insee code 66117

Government and politics

Mayors

Population

Sites of interest

In 2008, the citadel and the city walls of Mont-Louis were listed as part of the

Fortifications of Vauban UNESCO World Heritage Site The Fortifications of Vauban is a UNESCO World Heritage Site made up of 12 groups of fortified buildings and sites along the borders of France. They were designed by renowned military architect Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban (1633–1707) during ...

, because of its outstanding engineering and testimony to the development of military architecture in the 17th through 19th centuries. The

Mont-Louis Solar Furnace The Mont-Louis Solar Furnace is an experimental solar furnace - a solar thermal energy facility that was built in 1949. It was the first facility of its kind in the world, and was a precursor of the Odeillo Solar Furnace. It provides a thermal p ...

, is the world's first

solar furnace A solar furnace is a structure that uses concentrated solar power to produce high temperatures, usually for industry. Parabolic mirrors or heliostats concentrate light (Insolation) onto a focal point. The temperature at the focal point may rea ...

, built in 1949, by engineer

Félix Trombe Felix Trombe (1906–1985) was a French engineer.Jean-Jacques Amigo, "Trombe (Félix)", in Nouveau Dictionnaire de biographies roussillonnaises, vol. 3 Sciences de la Vie et de la Terre, Perpignan, Publications de l'olivier, 2017, 915 p. () ...

. It is open to visit for practical education on solar energy uses and technologies. The citadel has been hosting for more than half a century the

National Commando Training Center The National Centre for Commando Training, (french: Centre national d'entraînement commando, ) is a located in Mont-Louis and Collioure in the Pyrenees-Orientales department, and is part of the . History Created on the 1st January 1964, as a d ...

(

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

) which trains elite French troops and some foreign ones in the usage of

commando Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...

techniques and for enduring heavy physical and mental stress in combat situations. Nevertheless, some places of the citadel, like the "Puits de Forçats", in the French page. can also be visited, being accompanied by a local guide.

Notable people

Mont-Louis - Signature du maire Michel Aldebert 1815

Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, Seigneur de Vauban, later Marquis de Vauban (baptised 15 May 163330 March 1707), commonly referred to as ''Vauban'' (), was a French military engineer who worked under Louis XIV. He is generally considered the ...

(1633-1707), military engineer who conceived and directed the construction of Mont-Louis. * Pedro Étienne Solère (1753–1817), classical clarinetist * Jean Gilles (1904-1961), French Army general who died in Mont-Louis.

References

External links

Webpage about the fortifications of Mont-Louis
Communes of Pyrénées-Orientales Vauban fortifications in France {{PyrénéesOrientales-geo-stub