Argelès-sur-Mer (; ; ; ), commonly known as Argelès ( ), is a commune in the

Pyrénées-Orientales Pyrénées-Orientales (; ; ; ), also known as Northern Catalonia, is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France, adjacent to the northern Spain, Spanish ...

department in the

administrative region Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

Occitania Occitania is the historical region in Southern Europe where the Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes used as a second language. This cultural area roughly encompasses much of the southern third of France (except ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is about 25 km from

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...

Geography

Argelès-sur-Mer 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 ...

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 134,629 (2021), and its area is . Composition The commune ...

. Argelès-sur-Mer is on the

Côte Vermeille The Côte Vermeille (; , meaning "vermilion coast", or traditionally ) is a region in the French department of Pyrénées-Orientales on the Mediterranean Coast near the border with Spain. The Côte Vermeille stretches from Argelès-sur-Mer to t ...

at the foot of the Albères mountain range, close to the Spanish border. It has the longest beach in the Pyrenées Orientales. It is part of the Northern Catalan comarca of Rosselló. Map commune FR insee code 66008

History

In 1939, the Argelés concentration camp was created on the beaches near the town. At its peak in March 1939, the camp contained about 100,000 Spaniards, mostly soldiers of the defeated

Spanish Republican Army The Spanish Republican Army () was the main branch of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces, Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic between 1931 and 1939. It became known as People's Army of the Republic (''Ejército Popular de la República'' ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Argelès-sur-Mer was the location of a

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

, where up to 100,000 defeated Spanish Republicans were interned next to a windy beach in abysmal sanitary conditions by the French government after the defeat of the Spanish Republic. The refugees streamed to the camp from the winter of 1938/39 after the collapse of the Catalan front following the rebel offensive.

Government and politics

Mayors

Population and society

Demography

Education

Sports

Étoile sportive catalane is the

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

club of Argelès-sur-Mer.

Culture

Sites of interest

;Buildings * Dolmen of the Collets de Cotlliure (

Monument historique () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...

) * Dolmen of the Cova de l'Alarb (Monument historique) * Dolmen of Sant Pere dels Forquets * Chapel of Saint-Jérôme d'Argelès, from the 10th century * Church of Saint-Ferréol de la Pava (Monument historique), from the 10th century * Parish church of Notre-Dame del Prat, from the 14th to the 20th centuries (Monument historique) * Church of Sainte-Marie de Torreneules, from the 8th to the 10th centuries * Abbey of Valbonne, from the 13th to the 14th centuries * Church of Saint-Laurent-du-Mont, from the 12th century (Monument historique) * Church of Saint-Martin-et-Sainte-Croix, from the 11th or 12th century, and the old village of Taxo d'Avall (both Monument historique) * Church of Saint-Pierre dels Forquets, pre-romanesque ruins * Castle of Pujols, from the 13th century (Monument historique) * Massane tower, in the Albera Massif, from the 13th century * Castle of Valmy, from the 19th century * Casa de l'Albera, museum about the Albera Massif ;Natural sites * National nature reserve of the Mas Larrieu * National nature reserve of the Massane forest * The ''Bois des pins'' is the historical pine forest located near the beach front. Created in the 1860s by the

General Council of the Pyrénées-Orientales A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED Online. Ma ...

, it still has to this day over 8,000 centenarian pines.

Notable people

* Marcelle Narbonne (1898–2012) : supercentenarian who lived and died in Argelès-sur-Mer. * David Ensor (1906–1987) : British lawyer, actor, author and Labour Party politician, lived and died in Argelès-sur-Mer. * Marc Lièvremont (1968–) : former rugby union footballer raised in Argelès-sur-Mer and former member of the Étoile sportive catalane club.

References

External links

Town council website

Information in Catalan Encyclopaedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Argelessurmer Communes of Pyrénées-Orientales Northern Catalonia Seaside resorts in France