Pays d'Aillou

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The Pays d'Aillou (older: Pays d'Alion) is a high plateau in the French Pyrenees and lies at an average of 1200 m between the towns of Ax-les-Thermes and Belcaire .

The Pays d'Aillou with Prades in the foreground. In the background Camurac, in between the Mont d'Aillou

geography

The high plateau is located in the French Pyrenees at an average altitude of 1200 m above sea level. It borders the landscapes of the Sabarthès in the north and Donezan in the south. In the east the Pays d'Aillou merges into the Plateau de Sault , in the west lies the Ariège valley .

The Pays d'Aillou is geographically limited

  • to the east through the Col de Sept Frères,
  • to the west through the Col de Chioula,
  • in the north by the Pic Fourcat,
  • to the south by the Pic de Serembarre.

A narrow, barely 170 m high and almost 3 km long ridge, the Mont d'Aillou , runs through the plateau.

The river Hers (strictly speaking Hers-Vif ), which rises below the Col d'En Ferret (not far from the Col du Chioula ), crosses the plateau from south-west to north-east and leaves it through the Gorges de la Frau.

Four settlements are located on the plateau: in the west is the place Prades , Montaillou is on the elevation of Mont d'Aillou a little southeast of Prades, Camurac , the largest place, is on the eastern edge at the transition to the Plateau de Sault, and in the north Comus is located at the entrance to the La Frau Gorge .

history

The first permanent settlement of this high plateau is dated to the 10th century. At that time or shortly thereafter, today's four locations were created. Until the end of the 13th century the land belonged to the Lords of Alion and Usson . After the fall of the Montségur fortress in 1244, the Pays d'Aillou was divided into two domains:

  • the dominion of Montaillou and Prades , which came under the county of Foix , and
  • the rule of Camurac and Comus , which was later administered from Belcaire .

In the middle of the 13th century the country became a retreat for the persecuted Cathars . From 1296 the renaissance of the Cathar movement developed from here through the parfait Pierre Authié († 1310), notary from Ax-les-Thermes .

In the 17th century this area was also ravaged by the plague .

The Seigneurie Prades et Montaillou remained in the county of Foix until it was sold in 1757 to Traversier de Montauriol, Lord of Amplaing. However, his family was expropriated by the regional reform almost 50 years later and the Pays d'Aillou was divided into two departments : Prades and Montaillou came to the department of Ariège , Cormus and Camurac to the department of Aude .

population

The majority of the population lives in the four settlements.

Demographic development in the Pays d'Aillou
places   1962     1968     1975     1982     1990     1999     2006  
 Montaillou  41  45  37  20th  27  14th  10 
 Prades  88  97  73  67  53  47  50 
 Camurac  141  160  176  134  149  132  120 
 Comus  97  127  96  67  46  39  44 
 total  367  429  382  288  275  232  242 

The population development in the last few decades has continued to decline. The rural exodus has not yet come to an end here.

economy

The Pays d'Aillou is characterized by livestock and forestry . There is only a few arable farming . Industry is completely absent.

The only thoroughfare is the départementale D 613 route from Ax-les-Thermes to Belcaire . The towns of Prades and Camurac are on it. Montaillou can be reached via the D 105 and Comus via the D5 and D 20

In the last few years tourism was discovered for this area:

  • in the Ariège they rely more on "Cathar tourism" and
  • in the Aude more on winter sports and hiking tourism.

However, both the offer and the infrastructure are still in their infancy.

Sources and web links

Coordinates: 42 ° 47 ′ 38.1 "  N , 1 ° 54 ′ 37.5"  E