| Commune status | Commune |
|---|---|
| Arrondissement | Prades |
| Canton | Les Pyrénées catalanes |
| Insee | 66124 |
| Postal code | 66120 |
| Mayor | Alain Luneau[1] |
| Term | 2020–2026 |
| Coordinates | 42.4983°N 2.0347°E |
| Elevation m | 1800 |
| Elevation min m | 1312 |
| Elevation max m | 2212 |
| Area km 2 | 29.60 |
Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via (fɔ̃ ʁɔmø ɔdɛjo vja; Catalan: Font-romeu, Odelló i Vià), or simply Odeillo, is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales and Cerdagne near the Spanish border in the south of France.[2] It comprises the villages of Odeillo and Via, as well as Font-Romeu, one of the oldest ski resorts in France and the oldest in the Pyrenees.
Geography
Localization
Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement of Prades. It is bordered by the communes of Angoustrine-Villeneuve-des-Escaldes, Targasonne, Égat, Estavar, Saillagouse, Eyne and Bolquère.
Transportation
Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via station is served by the Yellow Train line, a railway which runs from Villefranche-de-Conflent to Latour-de-Carol.
Toponymy
The names of Odeillo and Via appear in 839 as parrochia Hodellone et parrochia Avizano.[3]
The name Font-Romeu means in Catalan "fountain of the pilgrim".[3]
History
Odeillo and Via were both mentioned for the first time in 839 among the places paying a fee to La Seu d'Urgell church. Nevertheless, Odeillo was at the time part of the County of Cerdanya, while Via was a property of the Urg family.[3]
On 15 July 1035, Wifred II, Count of Cerdanya, gave Odeillo to the Abbey of Saint-Martin-du-Canigou, where he retired himself a short time before his death. The Abbey of Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa also owned a few allods in Odeillo, as recognized by a papal bull from Sergius IV in 1011.[3]
Via remained a property of the Urg family until the 13th century. It was then bought by Peter of Fenouillet, viscount of Fenouillet and then viscount of Ille.[3]
A chapel was mentioned for the first time in Font-Romeu in 1525, on the territory of Odeillo. It already hosted a statue of the Virgin Mary from the 13th century, and a hermitage was built from 1693 to receive the pilgrims.[3]
Odeillo and Via both became communes in 1790. The commune of Via was abolished and included into Odeillo on 10 July 1822.[4]
In 1881, a wildfire caused by arson spread throughout 267 hectares of the forest of La Calme in the north of the commune.[5]
Demography
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 1,857 | — |
| 1975 | 2,098 | +13.0% |
| 1982 | 2,150 | +2.5% |
| 1990 | 1,857 | −13.6% |
| 1999 | 2,003 | +7.9% |
| 2007 | 1,992 | −0.5% |
| 2012 | 1,843 | −7.5% |
| 2017 | 1,928 | +4.6% |
| 2023 | 1,762 | −8.6% |
INSEE[6]
Solar power
- The world's largest solar furnace in Odeillo can reach temperatures of 3,500 °C (6,330 °F).
- THEMIS Solar Power R&D center is 3 km (1.9 mi) away in the village of Targasonne.
See also
References
- ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
- ^ INSEE commune file
- ^ (in French) Jean Sagnes (dir.), Le pays catalan, t. 2, Pau, Société nouvelle d'éditions régionales, 1985
- ^ Jean-Pierre Pélissier, Paroisses et communes de France: dictionnaire d'histoire administrative et démographique, vol. 66 : Pyrénées-Orientales, Paris, CNRS, 1986
- ^ Fabricio Cardenas, Vieux papiers des Pyrénées-Orientales, Incendies de forêts en 1881, 13 February 2014
- ^ Population municipale entre 1968 et 2023, INSEE