Tautavel

Tautavel ; valley valley
region	Occitania
Department	Pyrénées-Orientales
Arrondissement	Perpignan
Canton	La Vallée de l'Agly
Community association	Perpignan Méditerranée Métropole
Coordinates	42 ° 49 ′ N , 2 ° 45 ′ E Coordinates: 42 ° 49 ′ N , 2 ° 45 ′ E
height	65-566 m
surface	53.47 km 2
Residents	866 (January 1, 2017)
Population density	16 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code	66720
INSEE code	66205
	; Tautavel - view from the Tour de Far

Tautavel - view of the place and the castle ruins

Tautavel ( Catalan Talteüll ) is a place and a French commune with 866 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in the Occitania region . The place became internationally known through the Homme de Tautavel, who was found in a nearby cave in 1971 .

Location and climate

The wine-growing town of Tautavel is located on the banks of the Verdouble river , on the southern foothills of the Corbières , about 33 km (driving distance) northwest of Perpignan at an altitude of about 100 to 120 m . The climate is temperate to warm; Rain (approx. 620 mm / year) falls over the year.

Population development

year	1800	1851	1901	1954	1999	2016
Residents	476	724	1,201	925	851	872
Source: Cassini and INSEE

Despite the phylloxera crisis in viticulture and the increasing mechanization of agriculture , the population of the municipality has remained largely stable since the beginning of the 20th century.

economy

Only a small part of the municipal area is used for agriculture, with viticulture playing an important role. Large parts are covered by forest or lie fallow; there are several quarries.

history

Today's southern French region of Languedoc-Roussillon was populated by representatives of the genus Homo 450,000 years ago . The presence of Celts , Romans, Visigoths and Muslims for Tautavel, however, cannot be proven by archaeological finds or written sources. Only in the Middle Ages did the area regain a certain importance: In 1011, Count Bernard I of Besalú gave the castle of Tautavel and some other lands into the hands of his son Wilhelm. In the 13th century the area belonged to the Counts of Vernet and the Kingdom of Mallorca . In 1418 it finally came to the Crown of Aragón and stayed there until the Peace of the Pyrenees (1659). Then it was border area with Spain .

Attractions

A replica of the Arago Cave can be seen in the local Musée de Préhistoire . Copies of Homo erectus fossils , stone tools and originals of animal fossils are also exhibited there. In several dioramas , worlds from the era of the Hommes de Tautavel and the later Neanderthals come to life.
Only ruins remain of the castle of the Château de Tautavel .
The Église Saint-Génis dates from the 16th / 17th centuries. Century.

Surroundings

The cave of Arago (Caune d'Arago) , located approx. 3 km north of the village, cannot be visited.

The Tour del Far watchtower, high above the town (498 m), dates from the time of the Kingdom of Mallorca.
The Chapelle de Saintes-Puelles , located about 2 km south of the village near the road to Estagel , is a simple, but worth seeing building from the early 19th century.