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

Mont-Louis is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement of Prades. Mont-Louis-La Cabanasse station 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, because of its outstanding engineering and testimony to the development of military architecture in the 17th through 19th centuries. The Mont-Louis Solar Furnace, is the world's first solar furnace, built in 1949, by engineer Félix Trombe. 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 ( French Army) which trains elite French troops and some foreign ones in the usage of commando 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 Pedro Étienne Solère (4 April 1753 – 1817) was a French composer, teacher of music and clarinetist. Biography Born in Mont-Louis, Solère began playing clarinet as a child. He was very talented and already at the age of 14, he joined the Ch ...

(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