Collioure
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Commune of Collioure View of Collioure |
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| Location | |
| Longitude | 03°04'53" E |
| Latitude | 42°31'36" N |
| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Région | Languedoc-Roussillon |
| Département | Pyrénées-Orientales |
| Arrondissement | Céret |
| Canton | Côte Vermeille |
| Mayor | Michel Moly (2001-2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Altitude | 0m–655m (avg. 10m) |
| Land area¹ | 13.02 km² |
| Population² (1999) |
2.763 |
| - Density (1999) | 212/km² |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 66053/ 66190 |
| ¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq. mi. or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| ² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel). | |
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Collioure (French: Collioure, pronounced /kɔljuʀ/; Catalan: Cotlliure) is a seaside Mediterranean town and commune a few kilometers north of the Spanish border in the French département of Pyrénées-Orientales, a part of the ancient Roussillon province and the present-day Languedoc-Roussillon région. Collioure is also the name of an AOC wine similar to the famous Banyuls (AOC).
As the town has a strong Catalan culture, its own motto is the same as the one of the local Catalan rugby team (USA Perpignan, France) which is Sempre endavant, mai morirem (Always forward, We'll never die). Under Moly's leadership, the town has an alternative motto, Collioure sera toujours Collioure (Collioure stay the same) quoting French singer Maurice Chevalier's famous song titled Paris sera toujours Paris.
Collioure is famous nationwide for its 3-day August 15th celebrates attracting each year twice its population number with the town's bodégas and fireworks.
[edit] Culture
In the early 1900s Collioure became a center of artistic activity, with several Fauve artists making it their meeting place. André Derain, Georges Braque, Othon Friesz, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Tsuguharu Fujita have all been inspired by Collioure's Royal Castle, medieval streets, lighthouse-converted-into-church Notre-Dame-des-Anges and typical Mediterranean bay in their paintings. In Collioure's cemetery, there is the tomb of Spanish poet Antonio Machado, where he was buried after his death fleeing away from Francoist troops at the end of the Spanish Civil War in the 20th century.
[edit] History
Collioure was taken in 1642 by the troops of the French marshal Maréchal de la Meilleraye. A decade later, the town was officially surrendered to French Kingdom at 1659's Treaty of Pyrenees. Because of its highly strategic importance, the town's fortifications, including the Fort Saint-Elme stronghold, were improved by the famous militar engineer Vauban under king Louis XIV's reign. Nevertheless, Collioure was besieged and occupied by the Spanish Kingdom's troops in 1793, which was the last attempt Spaniards tried to take the city. The blockade was broken a year later by French general Dugommier. Once Collioure town was divided into two villages separated by the Douy river, the old town named Port d'Aval (today known as Le Faubourg) in the south and the upstream port, Port d'Amont (the actual La Ville). Each place had its own churches and distinct population categories.
[edit] External links
- Tourist office website
- Webpage about the fortifications of Collioure
- (French) Information of the Royal Castle of Collioure
- Cotlliure History and information in Catalan Encyclopaedia.
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