Argelès-sur-Mer (; ; ; ), commonly known as Argelès ( ), is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in the administrative region of Occitania, France.INSEE commune file
It is about 25 km from Perpignan.
Geography Argelès-sur-Mer is located in the canton of La Côte Vermeille and in the arrondissement of Céret.
Argelès-sur-Mer is on the Côte Vermeille at the foot of the Albères mountain range, close to the Spanish border. It has the longest beach in the Pyrenées Orientales.
It is part of the Northern Catalan comarca of Rosselló.
History
In 1939, the Argelés concentration camp was created on the beaches near the town. At its peak in March 1939, the camp contained about 100,000 Spaniards, mostly soldiers of the defeated Spanish Republican Army.Corazón Helado de 1939 – Los exilios republicanos
During World War II, Argelès-sur-Mer was the location of a concentration camp, where up to 100,000 defeated Spanish Republicans were interned next to a windy beach in abysmal sanitary conditions by the French government after the defeat of the Spanish Republic. The refugees streamed to the camp from the winter of 1938/39 after the collapse of the Catalan front following the rebel offensive.Corazón Helado de 1939 - Los exilios republicanos
Government and politics
Mayors
Mayorbislyjp.cpm, Marc Surjus : premier grand maire d'Argelès, mayors from 1790 to 1813.Incomplete list of mayors on MairesGenWeb Term start Term endAssiscle Bech17901791Jean Grando17911793Joseph Arman17931794Jean Matignon17941794Damien Padallé17941796Bonaventure Verges17961796François-Xavier Boluix17961798Joseph Arman17981799François-Xavier Boluix17991800Marc Surjus18001813Côme Ferran1813June 1815Paul Pujas Fabricio Cardenas, Vieux papiers des Pyrénées-Orientales, Argelès, 11 juin 1815, 12 January 2014June 1815? 1815Jean Azéma18151816Isidore Ferrer18161821Bonaventure Verges18211821Pierre Padallé18211827Bonaventure Julia18271829Joseph Arman18291830Pierre Padallé18301831Joseph Arman18311837Jean Germain Pujol18371840Alphonse Sebe18401848François Sine18481848Assiscle Padallé Bocamy18481848François Padallé Siné18481848Thomas Bech18481852Joseph Azema18521855Germain Barbie18551865Côme Ferran Comes18651870Joseph Baylet18701870Étienne Pujol18701874Jacques Lanquine18741876Étienne Pujol18761877Michel Moret18771878Étienne Pujol18781890Jean Padallé Bocamy18901892Marc Surjus-Coste18921893Pierre Moreto18931902Marc Surjus-Coste19021908Louis Courtais19081912Côme Anglade19121914Vincent Rouzaud19141915Dieudonné Vinyes19151918Côme Anglade19181919Louis Courtais19191922Frédéric Trescases19441945Joseph Farre19451947Germain Farre19471947Frédéric Trescases19471953Gaston Pams19531981Isidore Fourriques19811983Jean Carrère19832001Pierre Aylagas20012016Antoine Parra20162026Julie Sanz2026
Population and society
Demography
Education
Sports Étoile sportive catalane is the rugby union club of Argelès-sur-Mer.
Culture
Sites of interest
Buildings Dolmen of the Collets de Cotlliure (Monument historique) Dolmen of the Cova de l'Alarb (Monument historique) Dolmen of Sant Pere dels Forquets Chapel of Saint-Jérôme d'Argelès, from the 10th century Church of Saint-Ferréol de la Pava (Monument historique), from the 10th century Parish church of Notre-Dame del Prat, from the 14th to the 20th centuries (Monument historique) Church of Sainte-Marie de Torreneules, from the 8th to the 10th centuries Abbey of Valbonne, from the 13th to the 14th centuries Church of Saint-Laurent-du-Mont, from the 12th century (Monument historique) Church of Saint-Martin-et-Sainte-Croix, from the 11th or 12th century, and the old village of Taxo d'Avall (both Monument historique) Church of Saint-Pierre dels Forquets, pre-romanesque ruins Castle of Pujols, from the 13th century (Monument historique) Massane tower, in the Albera Massif, from the 13th century Castle of Valmy, from the 19th century Casa de l'Albera, museum about the Albera Massif
Natural sites National nature reserve of the Mas Larrieu National nature reserve of the Massane forest The Bois des pins is the historical pine forest located near the beach front. Created in the 1860s by the General Council of the Pyrénées-Orientales, it still has to this day over 8,000 centenarian pines.
Notable people Marcelle Narbonne (1898–2012) : supercentenarian who lived and died in Argelès-sur-Mer. David Ensor (1906–1987) : British lawyer, actor, author and Labour Party politician, lived and died in Argelès-sur-Mer. Marc Lièvremont (1968–) : former rugby union footballer raised in Argelès-sur-Mer and former member of the Étoile sportive catalane club.
See also Communes of the Pyrénées-Orientales department
References
External links
Town council website Information in Catalan Encyclopaedia from Wayback Machine, archived 19 August 2022