Ayguatébia-Talau (; ) 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 southern

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 ...

Geography

Location

Ayguatébia-Talau 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. ...

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 60,536 (2021), and its area is . Composition The communes ...

Toponymy

;Attested forms The name of ''Ayguatébia'' appears in 958 as ''Aqua tebeda'', immediately followed in 959 by ''Aquatepida''. ''Villa Aque tepida'' is used during the 11th century and ''Aiguetevia'' is found in 1392. From the 17th century and on, the common forms are ''Aiguetebia'' and ''Ayguatebia''. The modern spelling in Catalan is ''Aiguatèbia'', but the traditional spelling, ''Ayguatèbia'', should be preferred. Lluís Basseda, Toponymie historique de Catalunya Nord, t. 1, Prades, Revista Terra Nostra, 1990 The name of ''Talau'' appears in 874 as ''Villa Talatio'' and in 876 as ''Talacho''. ''Talazo'', ''Talaz'' and ''Talaxo'' are used during the 10th century. ''Talau'' appears in the 13th century and is used since. ;Etymology The name of ''Ayguatébia'' comes from the Latin ''aqua tebeda'', meaning ''lukewarm water'', in relation with warm springs found in Ayguatébia. The name of ''Talau'' comes from a pre-Latin radical, ''Tal'' or ''Tala'', meaning a small plateau found above a cliff or a hill, which corresponds to the situation of the village of Talau, located above the valley of the ''Cabrils river''.

History

The commune Ayguatébia-Talau was created on January 1, 1983, by uniting the former communes of Ayguatébia and Talau.

Government and politics

Mayors

Population

Architecture

* Saint-Felix and Saint-Armengol church in Ayguatébia * Saint-Stephen church in Talau * Saint-Michael of the Plans church

Notable people

Saint Ermengol Saint Ermengol (also ''Armengol'' or ''Armengod'') or Hermengaudius was the bishop of Urgell from 1010 until his death in 1035. Possibly born in the village of Ayguatébia, he was the son of Bernat I, viscount of Conflent, and his wife Guisla d ...

(?–1035) was possibly born in Ayguatébia.

References

External links

IGN
Communes of Pyrénées-Orientales Pyrénées-Atlantiques communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia {{PyrénéesOrientales-geo-stub