Port-Vendres (; ca, Portvendres) 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, ...
, southwestern France.
A typical
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
fishing port, situated near the Spanish border on the
Côte Vermeille
The Côte Vermeille ( ca, Costa Vermella, meaning "vermilion coast") is a region in the French Departments of France, department of Pyrénées-Orientales on the Mediterranean Coast near the border with Spain. The Côte Vermeille stretches from Arge ...
in southwestern France, Port-Vendres is renowned for its numerous fish and sea food restaurants.
Geography
Port-Vendres is located in the
canton of La Côte Vermeille
The canton of La Côte Vermeille is a canton of France, in the Pyrénées-Orientales department. Its chief town is Argelès-sur-Mer (before 2015: Port-Vendres).
Composition
At the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 20 ...
and in the
arrondissement of Céret
The arrondissement of Céret is an arrondissement of France in the Pyrénées-Orientales department (Northern Catalonia) in the Occitanie region. It has 64 communes. Its population is 129,464 (2016), and its area is .
Composition
The communes of ...
.
![Rorqual](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Rorqual.JPG)
Port-Vendres is one of the few deep-water ports in this part of the French Mediterranean coast. It takes freighters and cruise ships, as well as large and small fishing boats which may be seen arriving with their daily catch.
The
geomorphology
Geomorphology (from Ancient Greek: , ', "earth"; , ', "form"; and , ', "study") is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or n ...
of Port-Vendres meant that it developed in a different way from the nearby port of
Collioure
Collioure (; ca, Cotlliure, ) is a commune in the southern French department of Pyrénées-Orientales.
Geography
The town of Collioure is on the Côte Vermeille (Vermilion Coast), in the canton of La Côte Vermeille and in the arrondissement ...
. Whereas Collioure has two beaches which slowly descend into a relatively shallow sandy-bottomed harbour, Port-Vendres is deeper and rockier. Collioure and Port-Vendres have therefore been used for different purposes - Collioure for small commercial ship and Port-Vendres for larger vessels and military transports.
During the 20th century, this made it a main point of embarkation for French troops going to serve in
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
.
Climate
History
![Obelisk of Port-Vendres](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Obelisk_of_Port-Vendres.jpg)
Port-Vendres has been in existence since
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
times, when it was used as a harbour connected with the
Iberian settlement of Illiberis (modern
Elne
Elne (; ca, Elna ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.
It lies in the former province of Roussillon, of which it was the first capital, being later replaced by Perpignan. Its inhabitants are still called ...
). It was later developed by the
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
, who called it ''Portus Veneris'' after the
goddess Venus
Venus (), , is a List of Roman deities, Roman goddess, whose functions encompass love, beauty, desire, Sexuality in ancient Rome, sex, fertility, prosperity, and victory. In Roman mythology, she was the ancestor of the Roman people through her s ...
; there was probably a temple of Venus nearby for the good fortune of mariners.
[Busch, p. 64] Ancient writers wrote that there was a sanctuary of
Aphrodite
Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols include ...
and called it Aphrodisium ( grc, Ἀφροδίσιον).
[Strabo, Geography, 4.1.3](_blank)
/ref> Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
writes that it was dedicated to the Pyrenaean Aphrodite ( grc, Πυρηναίας Ἀφροδίτης).
During the Middle Ages, Port-Vendres was expanded by the rulers of the Kingdom of Majorca
The Kingdom of Majorca ( ca, Regne de Mallorca, ; es, Reino de Mallorca; la, Regnum Maioricae; french: Royaume de Majorque) was a realm on the east coast of Spain, which included certain Mediterranean islands, and which was founded by James I o ...
and served as a key point of connection between the mainland and the Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...
.[Busch, p. 80] It passed to France along with the rest of Roussillon
Roussillon ( , , ; ca, Rosselló ; oc, Rosselhon ) is a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of the reg ...
in 1659, as a result of 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 ...
. Vauban carried out work to fortify the port between 1673 and 1700, building three redoubts and fortresses.
Under Louis XVI
Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...
, a major expansion of the port was carried out under the supervision of Count Joseph Augustin De Mailly d'Haucourt
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
, the lieutenant general for Roussillon and commander in chief of the province. He was the driving force behind the modernisation of Port-Vendres as a port, and followed plans originally conceived by Vauban to open up and enlarge the existing facilities. From 1776–78, land was dug out and quays were created. A fourth fortress, the Redoute Mailly, was also built at this time to guard the harbour.
Charles De Wailly
Charles de Wailly () (9 November 1730 – 2 November 1798) was a French architect and urbanist, and furniture designer, one of the principals in the Neoclassical revival of the Antique. His major work was the Théâtre de l'Odéon for the Comédi ...
, architect and painter to the king, was commissioned to build a -high marble obelisk
An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...
which has now become a focal point of Port-Vendres. The first stone was placed on 28 September 1780, by Mailly's wife, Felicite de Narbonne Pelet, and witnessed by much of the Roussillon nobility. The obelisk is adorned by four bronze bas-relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
s representing the newly independent United States of America, which France had supported during the American War of Independence
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
; the abolition of serfdom
Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which develop ...
in France; free trade and the strengthened French Navy. In commemoration of the building of the obelisk, the Fete de Mailly takes place every September. The day begins with a fancy dress parade through the streets followed by a re-enactment of the placing of the first stone, circus workshops, historical games, rides in a carriage, Xim Xim concert (featuring traditional dance music of central France), Catalan ballet, enactment of a pirate fight, ''jeu de foulard'' (bandana game), and so on.
The Scottish Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
architect, interior designer, textile designer and water colourist Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Charles Rennie Mackintosh (7 June 1868 – 10 December 1928) was a Scottish architect, designer, water colourist and artist. His artistic approach had much in common with European Symbolism. His work, alongside that of his wife Margaret Macdo ...
lived and painted in Port-Vendres from 1923 until 1927, when he was forced by ill health to return to London, where he died in 1928. During his stay in Port-Vendres Mackintosh painted many water colours of the town and the surrounding area.
During the Second World War, the town was part of a heavily fortified coastal zone established by the occupying forces of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. Coastal artillery batteries were built at Cap Béar
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
just south of the town, but the Germans abandoned the area in August 1944 a few days after the Allied landings on the Côte d'Azur
The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...
during Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil) was the code name for the landing operation of the Allied invasion of Provence (Southern France) on 15August 1944. Despite initially designed to be executed in conjunction with Operation Overlord, th ...
.
Politics and administration
Mayors
Twin towns
Port-Vendres is twinned with:
*Yorktown, Virginia
Yorktown is a census-designated place (CDP) in York County, Virginia. It is the county seat of York County, one of the eight original shires formed in colonial Virginia in 1682. Yorktown's population was 195 as of the 2010 census, while York Cou ...
, United States
*Zweibrücken
Zweibrücken (; french: Deux-Ponts, ; Palatinate German: ''Zweebrigge'', ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river.
Name
The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; olde ...
, Germany
Population
See also
* Banyuls AOC
Banyuls is a French ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) for a fortified apéritif or dessert wine made from old vines cultivated in terraces on the slopes of the Catalan Pyrenees in the Roussillon county of France, bordering, to the so ...
* Paulilles
Paulilles is a protected area on the Mediterranean Sea, located between the towns of Port-Vendres, and Banyuls-sur-Mer in Pyrénées-Orientales, North Catalonia, France.
History
The Dynamite Factory
Paulilles Recreational Park occupies a reha ...
* Communes of the Pyrénées-Orientales department
The Pyrénées-Orientales department is composed of 226 communes.
Most of the territory (except for the district of Fenolheda) formed part of the Principality of Catalonia until 1659, and Catalan is still spoken (in addition to French) by a si ...
References
External links
*
Tourism Office website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Portvendres
Communes of Pyrénées-Orientales
Seaside resorts in France