Villelongue-dels-Monts

Villelongue-dels-Monts Vilallonga dels Monts
Commune
A view within Villelongue-Dels-Monts
Coat of arms
Location of Villelongue-dels-Monts
Villelongue-dels-Monts Villelongue-dels-Monts
Coordinates: 42°31′35″N 2°54′15″E
Country	France
Region	Occitania
Department	Pyrénées-Orientales
Arrondissement	Céret
Canton	Vallespir-Albères
Intercommunality	CC des Albères, de la Côte Vermeille et de l'Illibéris
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Christian Nifosi
Area 1	11.55 km2 (4.46 sq mi)
Population  (2021)	1,858
• Density	160/km2 (420/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	66225 /66740
Elevation	36–1,030 m (118–3,379 ft) (avg. 117 m or 384 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Villelongue-dels-Monts (French pronunciation: [vil.lɔ̃ɡ dɛls mɔ̃ts] ; Catalan: Vilallonga dels Monts) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.

The inhabitants are called Villelonguais.

Geography

Villelongue-dels-Monts is located in the south of the department of Pyrénées-Orientales, 33 km south of Perpignan, 18 km east from the Mediterranean Sea and 17 km from the Spanish border by Le Perthus, in the canton of Vallespir-Albères and in the arrondissement of Céret.

Its close neighbouring communities are : in the north Banyuls-dels-Aspres, Brouilla and Saint-Génis-des-Fontaines ; in the east Laroque-des-Albères ; in the south l'Albère and in the west Montesquieu-des-Albères.

With a surface of 1155 hectares, the territory is narrow and long (2 km from east to west and 8 km from north to south).

Map of Villelongue-dels-Monts and its surrounding communes

History

Villelongue-dels-Monts is named after the peak above the village which means « Villelongue-du-Mont ». It was mentioned for the first time in 981. Eventually, the monastery of Saint-Génis-des-Fontaines possessed a freehold on "Villalonga". The phrase "Castrum Sancti Christophori" appeared in 1095 to indicate the fortress constructed on the rocky peak.

Politics and administration

Mayors

Name Period Raphaël Roque 1792–1794 Sauveur Vigo 1794–1797 Antoine Portes 1797–1800 Raphaël Roque 1800–1813 Joseph Guichet 1813–1815 Joseph Ribes 1815–1821 Joseph Guichet 1821–1831 Jean Guichet 1831–1835 Louis Galangau 1835–1842 Jean Guichet 1842–1846 Saturnin Blay 1846–1848 Jean Guichet 1848–1850 Pierre Badie 1850–1851 Saturnin Blay 1851–1856 François Durand 1856–1870 Jean-Baptiste Vigo 1870–1874 François Durand 1874–1876

Name Period Jean-Baptiste Vigo 1876–1884 Jean Claret Guichet 1884–1888 Jean Cavaillé-Giralt 1888–1894 Pierre Cavaillé-Paris 1894–1896 Barthélemy Cavaillé 1896–1900 Louis Galangau-Jourda 1900–1907 Jean Boulet 1907–1914 Paul Portes 1914–1915 Jean Cavaillé 1915–1919 Jean Boulet 1919–1929 Antonin Monné 1929–1945 Julien Galangau 1945–1953 Robert Gazan 1953–1989 François Oms 1989–2001 Christian Nifosi 2001 -

Demography

The communal demography is marked by a certain stability between 1851 and 1975, fluctuating in a minimum of population of 408 in 1968 and a maximum of 533 in 1891, and alternating between the periods of growth and decline.

In 1975, Villelongue-dels-Monts began to grow. The population more than doubled in 30 years, from 513 inhabitants in 1975 to 1346 in 2006.

This growth is largely related to the growth of the metropolitan area of Perpignan.

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 278 —     1800 261 −0.90% 1806 389 +6.88% 1821 463 +1.17% 1831 487 +0.51% 1836 475 −0.50% 1841 461 −0.60% 1846 496 +1.47% 1851 521 +0.99% 1856 495 −1.02% 1861 440 −2.33% 1866 454 +0.63% 1872 450 −0.15% 1876 470 +1.09% 1881 514 +1.81% 1886 505 −0.35% 1891 533 +1.09% 1896 520 −0.49%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 524 +0.15% 1906 512 −0.46% 1911 506 −0.24% 1921 508 +0.04% 1926 508 +0.00% 1931 506 −0.08% 1936 503 −0.12% 1946 456 −0.98% 1954 528 +1.85% 1962 437 −2.34% 1968 408 −1.14% 1975 513 +3.33% 1982 749 +5.56% 1990 831 +1.31% 1999 1,069 +2.84% 2007 1,327 +2.74% 2012 1,483 +2.25% 2017 1,706 +2.84%
Source: EHESS and INSEE (1968-2017)

Sites of interest

• Santa Maria del Vilar

• 
  Santa Maria del Vilar
• 
  Église Saint-Étienne

See also

• Communes of the Pyrénées-Orientales department

External links

• Official website of Villelongue dels Monts
• Site of Santa Maria del Vilar