Arles-sur-Tech (, literally Arles on Tech; ; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.INSEE commune file
Geography Location Arles-sur-Tech is located in the canton of Le Canigou and in the arrondissement of Céret.
Arles-sur-Tech is situated in the southernmost valley in mainland France before Spain, the Vallespir, through which the long river "Tech" flows. This small town is surrounded by the eastern Pyrenees which dominate the skyline around Arles-sur-Tech. The town sits on the only main road which passes through the valley, the D 115, making it accessible from Spain in the west and the plane of Roussillon and Perpignan in the east. It is located close to the larger and more well-known spa town of Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda.
History At the end of the Spanish Civil War Arles-sur-Tech was the site of a camp housing Republican escapees from Spain. It was used as an initial sorting camp.
Government and politics Mayors Mayor Term start Term endJean-Baptiste Serradell18071808Abdon Desclaus18081813Jean-Baptiste Serradell Fabricio Cardenas, Vieux papiers des Pyrénées-Orientales, Arles, le 11 juin 1815, 14 january 201418131815Jean Galangau18151827Dominique Jofre18271830Jean Pujade18301832Etienne Grau18321835Pierre Mouchart18351837Jacques Dubois18371839Jean Serreclare18391840François Comaills18401848Etienne Douffiagues18481849Joseph Boix18491850Joseph Pallarès18921908Jean Vilar19081914Baptiste Pams19141941Lucien Trenet (father of Charles Trenet)19411942Pierre Sola19421944Baptiste Pams19441967Paul Lavanga19671983Marcel Charlet19831989Albert Costa19892001René Ala20012008René Bantoure20082020David Planas2020incumbent
International relations Arles-sur-Tech is twinned with: Cubelles, Spain Infos on Cubelles municipal website
Population
Sites of interest Abbey of Saint Mary : Arles-sur-Tech is best known for its abbey, which allegedly holds the relics of Saints Abdon and Sennen in a sarcophagus called Sainte Tombe, traditionally believed to have been brought from Rome by Abbot Arnulf in the middle of the tenth century.Joan Evans, Cluniac Art of The Romanesque Period (Cambridge University Press, 1950). Citing L'abbé Joseph Gibrat, Aperçu historique sur l'abbaye d'Arles-sur-Tech, page 15 (Céret, L. Roque, 1922. In-8°, 93 p.). Its waters are traditionally believed to hold miraculous healing properties.Milburg Francisco Mansfield, Castles and chateaux of old Navarre and the Basque provinces: including also Foix, Roussillon and Béarn (I. Pitman, 1908). The Caixa de Rotllan, a dolmen. Saint-Stephen church Saint-Saviour church Saint-Peter church Holy Cross church The Fou canyon, said to be the world's narrowest.
Bibliography Abbé Adolphe Crastre, Histoire du martyre des saints Abdon et Sennen, de leurs reliques, de leurs miracles, de leur culte et de l'eau miraculeuse du sarcophage (Amélie-les-Bains, 1932). Facsimile reprint, Nîmes: Les Éditions Lacour-Ollé, 2005.
See also Communes of the Pyrénées-Orientales department
References
External links
Official site