Mont-Louis

Mont-Louis
Mont-Louis
	Commune
	An aerial view of Mont-Louis
	Coat of arms
	Location of Mont-Louis
	Mont-Louis Mont-Louis
	Coordinates: 42°30′33″N 2°07′15″E
Country	France
Region	Occitanie
Department	Pyrénées-Orientales
Arrondissement	Prades
Canton	Les Pyrénées catalanes
Government
• Mayor (2001–2008)	Christian Pecout
Area 1	0.39 km2 (0.15 sq mi)
Population (2017-01-01)[1]	152
• Density	390/km2 (1,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	66117 /66210
Elevation	1,516–1,608 m (4,974–5,276 ft) ; (avg. 1,600 m or 5,200 ft)
	1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Mont-Louis (Catalan: Montlluís or el Vilar d'Ovansa) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.

Geography

Mont-Louis is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement of Prades.

Map of Mont-Louis and its surrounding communes

Government and politics

Mayors

Signature of mayor Michel Aldebert in 1815

Mayor	Term start	Term end

Michel Aldebert[2]	c. 1815	?

Christian Pécout	2001	2002
Jean-Michel Larmet	2002	2010
Pierrette Cordelette	2010

Population

Population 1962-2008

Sites of interest

Solar furnace of Mont-Louis

In 2008, the citadel and the city walls of Mont-Louis were listed as part of the Fortifications of Vauban UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Mont-Louis Solar Furnace, is the world's first solar furnace, built in 1949, by engineer Félix Trombe. It is open to visit for practical education on solar energy uses and technologies.

The citadel has been hosting for more than half a century the National Commando Training Center (French Army) which trains elite French troops and some foreign ones in the usage of commando techniques and for enduring heavy physical and mental stress in combat situations. Nevertheless, some places of the citadel, like the "Puits de Forçats",[3] can also be visited, being accompanied by a local guide.

Notable people

Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban (1633-1707), military engineer who conceived and directed the construction of Mont-Louis.
Pedro Étienne Solère (1753–1817), classical clarinetist
Jean Gilles (1904-1961), French Army general who died in Mont-Louis.

References

INSEE commune file

"Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
(in French) Fabricio Cardenas, Vieux papiers des Pyrénées-Orientales, Mont-Louis, le 15 juin 1815, 16 january 2014
See § Lieux et monuments in the French page.

External links

Webpage about the fortifications of Mont-Louis

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[1] "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.

[2] (in French) Fabricio Cardenas, Vieux papiers des Pyrénées-Orientales, Mont-Louis, le 15 juin 1815, 16 january 2014

[3] See § Lieux et monuments in the French page.