Mijanès (; ) is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern

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 located close to two Cathar castles, the

Château d'Usson The Château d'Usson (en Occitan: ''Castèl de So'') is one of the so-called Cathar castles in what is now southwestern France. It is located in the ''Communes of France, commune'' of Rouze, in the Ariège (department), Ariège ''Departments of Fr ...

and the Château de Quérigut. 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 ...

, the villagers of Mijanès were involved in the rescue of six British airmen of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

after their plane crashed on the Pic de la Camisette, a nearby mountain, in December 1944. Wreckage of the plane is displayed today at the Château d'Usson.

Population

Administration

Landmarks and communities

Church of St John the Baptist

The church in Mijanès is dedicated to

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

and dates from the 17th century. It was built in the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

style and the façade was restored in 1965.

La Forge à la catalane

The community of la Forge à la catalane is located near to Mijanès by the River Bruyante and close to an area called la Mouline. It is so called because during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to the ...

operated at this location. It is mentioned for the first time in 1714 when the

Marquis A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wido ...

d'Usson was authorized by

King Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest of any monar ...

to build an ironworks there. The Mijanès forge was located by a river with a current strong enough to drive a

water wheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the kinetic energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a large wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with numerous b ...

to power industrial

bellows A bellows or pair of bellows is a device constructed to furnish a strong blast of air. The simplest type consists of a flexible bag comprising a pair of rigid boards with handles joined by flexible leather sides enclosing an approximately airtig ...

and

metalworking Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals in order to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term, it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on e ...

machinery. Because it was situated in the village, the water wheel was also used to run

flour mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...

s and a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

. The

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

was brought up by

mule The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey, and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two ...

s from Rancié and possibly also the

iron mine Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's ou ...

s at Boutadiol. The iron was extracted from the ore by

smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat and a chemical reducing agent to an ore to extract a desired base metal product. It is a form of extractive metallurgy that is used to obtain many metals such as iron-making, iron, copper extraction, copper ...

with wood

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ca ...

Cathar Castles

Near to Mijanès is the

, an 11th-century ruined fortification which was used for sanctuary by the

Cathar Catharism ( ; from the , "the pure ones") was a Christian quasi- dualist and pseudo-Gnostic movement which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France, between the 12th and 14th centuries. Denounced as a he ...

s towards the end of the wars against the Cathars. The village is also situated close to and the Château de

Quérigut Quérigut (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Ariège (department), Ariège Departments of France, department in southwestern France. History Donezan, of which Quérigut is the capital, was a dependency of the crown of Aragon. In 1 ...

Les Orrys

A number of shepherds'

hut A hut is a small dwelling, which may be constructed of various local materials. Huts are a type of vernacular architecture because they are built of readily available materials such as wood, snow, stone, grass, palm leaves, branches, clay, hid ...

s (''orrys'') survive in the hills around the village. These structures enabled shepherds and farmers to take shelter without having to return to the village. These huts have through the years without much deterioration due to their quality and simplicity of construction. Although they are numerous, they are difficult to find without the assistance of a mountain guide.

Mijanès ski station

Mijanès Donezan ski station is at 1470 m-2000 m altitude, with 45 km of ski routes including 36 km of

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

and 10

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping) ...

pistes, and five

ski lifts A ski lift is a mechanism for transporting skiers up a hill. Ski lifts are typically a paid service at ski resorts. The first ski lift was built in 1908 by German Robert Winterhalder in Schollach/ Eisenbach, Hochschwarzwald. Types * Aerial ...

. It was founded in 1961 (M. Castilla, General Counsel).

Noubals

hydroelectric dam Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

is located at nearby Noubals. The facility also offers public access for leisure activities such as a fitness trail.

Geography

The river running through the village is La Bruyante. Surrounding peaks include Pic de Balbonne (2305 m), Roc Blanc (2 546 m) and Pic de la Camisette. The Monegou cave, which was discovered in 1968, is a

pit cave A pit cave, shaft cave or vertical cave—or often simply called a pit (in the US) and pothole or pot (in the UK); jama in Slavic languages scientific and colloquial vocabulary (borrowed since early research in the Western Balkan Dinaric Alpin ...

which reaches a depth of 324m.

Notable people

The Abbot and geologist J. M. Durand, who was appointed at

Montségur Montségur (; Languedocien: ''Montsegur'') is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France. It is famous for its fortification, the Château de Montségur, that was built on the "pog" (mountain) on the ruins of one of the la ...

, carried out excavations in the area. His discoveries are housed in a museum in Paris. He was the attached to the château d'Usson.

Jean-Pierre Bel Jean-Pierre Bel (born 30 December 1951) is a French retired politician who served as President of the Senate from 2011 to 2014 (the sole non-right-wing in the Fifth Republic). From the Ariège department, Bel is a member of the Socialist Party ...

, President of the French Senate from 2011, was a former mayor of Mijanès.

1944 Pic de la Camisette air crash

On 5 December 1944 a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Douglas Dakota III aircraft, serial number FL588, of the

crashed on the Pic de la Camisette, a mountain close to the commune of Mijanès, Ariège, in the French

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

. It was on a military transport operation during

. The Dakota was piloted by three RAF pilots. In total twenty-three airmen were on board, including twenty members of the

Glider Pilot Regiment The Glider Pilot Regiment was a British airborne forces unit of the Second World War, which was responsible for crewing the British Army's military gliders and saw action in the European theatre in support of Allied airborne operations. Establish ...

. Only six airmen survived the incident; sixteen died in the crash, another died within hours from his injuries. In spite of serious wounds, two of the survivors managed to reach the village of Mijanès to get help for the other survivors. FL588 originated from

RAF Northolt Royal Air Force Northolt or more simply RAF Northolt is a Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force stations, station in South Ruislip, from Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, western Greater London, England, approximately north of ...

in West London. Two Dakota planes took off at 09:00 on 5 December on a course for

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

transporting 20

glider pilot Glider or Gliders may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport ...

s en route to India, who were trained to pilot

Horsa Hengist (, ) and Horsa are legendary Germanic peoples, Germanic brothers who according to later English legends and ethnogenesis theories led the Angles (tribe), Angles, Saxons and Jutes, the progenitor groups of modern English people, in thei ...

and

Hamilcar __NOTOC__ Hamilcar (, ,. or , , "Melqart is Gracious"; , ''Hamílkas'';) was a common Carthaginian masculine given name. The name was particularly common among the ruling families of ancient Carthage. People named Hamilcar include: * Hamilcar th ...

gliders to carry men and equipment. Around 15:30 one of the Dakota aircraft crashed on the Pic de la Camisette (alt 2426m ), striking the north face above the Roc de la Musique before coming down facing south-east near a lake. The exact cause of the crash is not known, although it is known that the aircraft came down in a blizzard. Seven pilots survived the crash initially, with varying degrees of injury but seven died during the night from injuries.

Rescue

The following morning, 6 December, the injured Blatch and Baker located Dawkins by following his cries of pain and attempted to bring him to shelter in the plane, but were unable to move him. In spite of having broken both his legs, Dawkins managed to drag himself towards the plane, where the other men gave him shelter in the wrecked fuselage. Blatch and Baker, who were barely able to walk, then went down into the valley to the village of Mijanès and sought help from the local inhabitants. A group of villagers from Mijanes formed a search party and went up to look for survivors, but were thwarted by nightfall and a fierce snowstorm. On 7 December, villagers from neighbouring Artigues retraced the steps of the two airmen and discovered the plane wreck on the Pic de la Camisette. Amid the wreckage they heard cries for help and found the officers Ainsworth, Henwood, Wigmore and Dawkins in the fuselage of the plane, alive but too severely injured to move. With great difficulty, the villagers carried the airmen down from the mountain, following the Barbouillère stream through the snow. The injured men were then taken from Le Pla by ambulance to

Carcassonne Carcassonne is a French defensive wall, fortified city in the Departments of France, department of Aude, Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. It is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the department. ...

hospital. The bodies of eleven men were recovered from the crash site between 10 and 19 December, and buried in Mijanès. The search was suspended due to adverse weather conditions, but in the spring of 1945 a further six bodies were brought down from the crash site after the snow had melted. All of the airmen who died in the crash were later reburied in the

Mazargues Mazargues () is a former village and now a neighbourhood of the 9th arrondissement of Marseille, 9th arrondissement in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. History Françoise-Marguerite de Sévigné (1646–1705), a French aristocrat, had a bast ...

War Cemetery, Marseille.

Wreckage

Remains of Dakota FL 588 have been preserved and today are on display at the

, a ruined medieval Castle noted for its association with the

Cathars Catharism ( ; from the , "the pure ones") was a Christian quasi- dualist and pseudo-Gnostic movement which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France, between the 12th and 14th centuries. Denounced as a he ...

References

External links

L'épave du C47 de la Camisette
- photographs of a hiking trip to the Camisette crash site
Crash du Douglas C-47 - type A-1-DK Skytrain - s/n FL588 (42-92220) NQ-Z
- ''France Crashes 39-45'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Mijanes Communes of Ariège (department) Ariège communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia