Prats-de-Mollo-la-Preste

Prats-de-Mollo-la-Preste ; Prats de Molló i la Presta
region	Occitania
Department	Pyrénées-Orientales
Arrondissement	Ceret
Canton	Le Canigou
Community association	Haut Vallespir
Coordinates	42 ° 24 ' N , 2 ° 29' E Coordinates: 42 ° 24 ' N , 2 ° 29' E
height	575-2,693 m
surface	145.09 km 2
Residents	1,163 (January 1, 2017)
Population density	8 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code	66230
INSEE code	66150
Website	Prats-de-Mollo-la-Preste
	; Prats-de-Mollo - town view

Prats-de-Mollo-la-Preste ( Catalan Prats de Molló i la Presta ; German: 'Meadows of Mollo') is a place and a French commune ( commune ) with 1,163 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Pyrénées department Orientales in the Occitania region .

location

Prats-de-Mollo lies at an altitude of about 740 m above sea level. d. M. on the Tech river about 10 km (as the crow flies) south of the Pic du Canigou in the upper Vallespir valley near the Col d'Ares and the Spanish border. Perpignan , the capital of Roussillon, is just under 60 km (driving distance) to the northeast. About 8 km west of the village is the small spa town of La Preste with its sulfur thermal baths .

Population development

year	1800	1850	1901	1954	1975	1999	2012
Residents	3,190	3,270	2,525	1,608	1,190	1,080	1,074

As a result of the increasing mechanization of agriculture and the resulting loss of jobs, the number of residents has steadily declined since the end of the 19th century.

economy

At the end of the 19th century there were marble quarries and small chocolate manufacturers and small weaving mills in the area. Today tourism plays a not insignificant role in the economic life of the municipality in the form of the rental of holiday apartments ( gîtes ).

history

In the 9th and 10th centuries Prats and Mollo were first mentioned in a document; Since the end of the 14th century, they have often been found together (e.g. Vallis de Pratis de Mollone ). The remote town of La Preste was incorporated in 1956. In the 13th century there was a castle of the Counts of Besalú south of today's town . In the following century the place received a city wall ( remparts ), which however partially collapsed during the earthquake of 1428. A century later, the plague raged and decimated the population. The 16th century saw an economic boom in the place due to numerous weaving mills, but also persistent territorial disputes between Spain and France, which came to an end with the Peace of the Pyrenees in 1659. But only a few years later (1661–1673) the population revolted against the salt tax ( gabelle ) imposed on them by Louis XIV . In the years 1674 to 1682 the Fort Lagarde was built north of the village to better control the upper Vallespir valley; The place and fort were besieged unsuccessfully by Spanish troops as a sideline to the Nine Years' War . During the revolutionary years of 1793/94 Prats-de-Mollo was temporarily occupied by Spanish troops.

Attractions

Église Saintes Juste et Ruffine

Nave

The medieval city walls of Prats-de-Mollo with the Porte d'Espagne , which were repaired by Vauban in the 17th century, have been classified as monuments historiques since 1930 and 1922 respectively.

The late Gothic church of Saintes Juste et Ruffine from the 13th century with extensions from the 17th century is one of the most important art monuments in the town and the surrounding area . Largely originally the bell tower built on a square floor plan , which is based on the Lombard style of several towers in the area (e.g. Saint Michel de Cuxa or Saint Martin du Canigou ). The wooden entrance door still shows original iron fittings with spiral motifs . The vaulted church space has a single nave and is stabilized by side chapels inserted between the outer buttresses ; In the apse there is a late baroque altarpiece with twisted columns in the Churrigueresque style . Church construction has been recognized as a monument historique since 1921 .

Fort Lagarde, used as a museum and built by Vauban, dominates the place. In the middle stands the ruins of a medieval keep ( donjon ). It was classified as a Monument historique in 1926 .

Surroundings

The district of La Preste, which has only about 100 inhabitants, offers spa hotels etc .; the small chapel Saint-Isidore is a beautifully restored quarry stone building of unknown age.

The only part of a 4 km long hike to reach Tour de Mir is west of the village standing on a 1540 m high hilltop watchtower , which in the 13th century by the Mallorcan King Jaume I was built. It has been recognized as a Monument historique since 2002 .

The Ermitage Notre-Dame-du-Coral is a building complex consisting of several buildings on a mountain slope from the 17th and 18th centuries. It is located about 11 km south of Prats-de-Mollo and has been recognized as a Monument historique since 1990 .

Near the top of the Col d'Ares pass rises the small chapel of Sainte Margarite du Col d'Ares , made of quarry stone, without apse , which formerly belonged to a hospice , but which was already closed at the end of the 17th century and of which only sparse Ruins are preserved. The small building with its grassy roof has a portal on the south side; the inside is barrel vaulted . The chapel and the remains of the hospice were classified as Monuments historiques in 2009 .