Villefranche-de-Conflent

Villefranche-de-Conflent
Vilafranca de Conflent
Commune
A view of Villefranche from Fort Liberia

Coat of arms
Villefranche-de-Conflent
Location within Occitanie region
Villefranche-de-Conflent
Coordinates: 42°35′17″N 2°22′07″E / 42.5881°N 2.3686°E / 42.5881; 2.3686Coordinates: 42°35′17″N 2°22′07″E / 42.5881°N 2.3686°E / 42.5881; 2.3686
Country France
Region Occitanie
Department Pyrénées-Orientales
Arrondissement Prades
Canton Les Pyrénées catalanes
Government
 • Mayor (2001–2008) François Galte
Area1 4.46 km2 (1.72 sq mi)
Population (2006)2 244
 • Density 55/km2 (140/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code 66223 /66500
Elevation 390–1,395 m (1,280–4,577 ft)
(avg. 432 m or 1,417 ft)

1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Villefranche-de-Conflent (Catalan: Vilafranca de Conflent) is historically a town in the Conflent region of Catalonia, and now a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.

Geography

Locality

Villefranche-de-Conflent is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement of Prades.

Map of Villefranche-de-Conflent and its surrounding communes

The town's confined site, at about 440 m above sea level, is relatively level ground surrounded by

  • the northeast-flowing river Têt (on the town's west and north),
  • the Cady, which flows north to empty into the Têt (on the east), and
  • a peak (at nearly 800 m), less than 800 m away (on the south).[1]

Transport

Roads

The N116 from Perpignan on the Mediterranean passes, as a two-lane highway, between the southern town wall and an embankment cut into the high ground to the south;[1] this route continues west into the adjacent Cerdagne region.

Train

The town's train station starts and ends the route of the scenic Yellow train.

History

The original town dates from 1098, and was fortified because of its strategic position in lands that changed hands between French and Spanish occupation.

The defensive walls of the town remain.

Villefranche-de-Conflent, viewed from the north

Population

Population 1962-2008

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 GoogleMaps satellite view for "Villefranche-de-Conflent, France"

References

  • Ayats, Alain, "Les fortifications de Vauban", Trabucaire, 2005, ISBN 2-84974-026-8
  • INSEE commune file
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