Canigou
Encyclopedia
The Canigou (el. 2,784.66 m./9137 ft.) is a mountain
located in the Catalan Pyrenees
of southern France
.
Due to its sharp flanks and its dramatic location close to the coast, until the 18th century the Canigou was believed to be the highest mountain in the Pyrenees
.
There are two ancient monasteries at the foot of the mountain, Martin-du-Canigou
and Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa
.
groups. On its summit there is a cross that is often decorated with the Catalan flag
. Every year on the 23d June, the night before St. John's day
(nit de Sant Joan), there is a ceremony called Flama del Canigó (Canigou Flame), where a fire is lit at the mountaintop. People keep a vigil during the night and take torches lit on that fire in a spectacular torch relay to light bonfires somewhere else. Some estimates conclude that about 30,000 bonfires are lit in this way all over Catalonia on that night.
In these verses Verdaguer compares the snowy mountain to a Magnolia
flower:
Meaning: The Canigou is an immense magnolia that blooms in an offshoot of the Pyrenees; its bees are the fairies that surround it, and its butterflies the swans and the eagles.
Its cup are jagged mountain chains, colored in silver by the winter and in gold by the summer, huge cup where the star drinks fragrances, the airs freshness and the clouds water. The pine forests are its hedges and the ponds its dew drops, and its pistil is that golden palace seen by the nymph in her dreams descending from heaven.
The young cadets were awarded Life Saver of the year awards from St John's Ambulance and both leaders also received awards. The expedition leader, Flight Lieutenant Will Close-Ash was awarded the Life Saving Medal of the Order of St John of Jerusalem. The silver medal, which has been awarded to only 170 people in the last 100 years, was confirmed by the Queen in October and is awarded for someone who shows “a conspicuous act of gallantry while endangering his own life”.
Flt Lt Close-Ash received his award from the Grand Prior, Sir Brian Jenkins GBE, at a special investiture at the Priory Headquarters in Clerkenwell, London. The Venerable Order of Saint John
is a Royal Order of Chivalry with the Queen as head. It originates from the Knights Hospitaller
founded in 1080 to care for the poor.
No more than two people are presented with the award each year and fewer than 170 Silver medals have been awarded since they were instituted in 1874.
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
located in the Catalan Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
of southern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Due to its sharp flanks and its dramatic location close to the coast, until the 18th century the Canigou was believed to be the highest mountain in the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
.
Trekking and sightseeing
Spectacular jeep tracks on the north side of the massif lead to the Chalet de Cortalets (at 2150 m.) which is a popular outpost for walkers.There are two ancient monasteries at the foot of the mountain, Martin-du-Canigou
Martin-du-Canigou
Martin-du-Canigou is a monastery built in 1009 in the Pyrenees on Canigou mountain in present day southern France near the Spanish border.-Location:...
and Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa
Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa
Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa is a Benedictine abbey located in the territory of the commune of Codalet, in the Pyrénées-Orientales département, in southwestern France...
.
Canigou Flame
This mountain has symbolical significance for Catalan nationalistCatalan nationalism
Catalan nationalism or Catalanism , is a political movement advocating for either further political autonomy or full independence of Catalonia....
groups. On its summit there is a cross that is often decorated with the Catalan flag
Estelada
The Estelada is an unofficial flag typically waved by Catalan independentists to express their support for an either independent Catalonia or independent Països Catalans...
. Every year on the 23d June, the night before St. John's day
Midsummer
Midsummer may simply refer to the period of time centered upon the summer solstice, but more often refers to specific European celebrations that accompany the actual solstice, or that take place on a day between June 21 and June 24, and the preceding evening. The exact dates vary between different...
(nit de Sant Joan), there is a ceremony called Flama del Canigó (Canigou Flame), where a fire is lit at the mountaintop. People keep a vigil during the night and take torches lit on that fire in a spectacular torch relay to light bonfires somewhere else. Some estimates conclude that about 30,000 bonfires are lit in this way all over Catalonia on that night.
Literature
The Canigou inspired a collection of poems called "Canigó" by Catalan poet Jacint Verdaguer i Santaló.In these verses Verdaguer compares the snowy mountain to a Magnolia
Magnolia
Magnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. It is named after French botanist Pierre Magnol....
flower:
- Lo Canigó és una magnòlia immensa
- que en un rebrot del Pirineu se bada;
- per abellesBeeBees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
té fadesFairyA fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term...
que la volten, - per papallonsButterflyA butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
los cisnesSwanSwans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae...
i les àliguesEagleEagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
. - Formen son càlzerPetalPetals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They often are brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. Together, all of the petals of a flower are called a corolla. Petals are usually accompanied by another set of special leaves called sepals lying...
escarides serres - que plateja l’hivern i l’estiu daura,
- grandiós beire on beu olors l’estrella,
- los aires rellentor, los núvols aigua.
- Les boscúries de pinsPinePines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
són sos bardissos, - los EstanyolsPondA pond is a body of standing water, either natural or man-made, that is usually smaller than a lake. A wide variety of man-made bodies of water are classified as ponds, including water gardens, water features and koi ponds; all designed for aesthetic ornamentation as landscape or architectural...
ses gotes de rosadaDew[Image:Dew on a flower.jpg|right|220px|thumb|Some dew on an iris in Sequoia National Park]]Dew is water in the form of droplets that appears on thin, exposed objects in the morning or evening...
, - i és son pistil aqueix palau aurífic,
- somni d’alojaAloja (mythology)In Catalan mythology an Aloja , also known as Dona d'aigua, Goja or Paitida, is a feminine being that lives in places with fresh water...
que del cel davalla. (p. 27-28)
Meaning: The Canigou is an immense magnolia that blooms in an offshoot of the Pyrenees; its bees are the fairies that surround it, and its butterflies the swans and the eagles.
Its cup are jagged mountain chains, colored in silver by the winter and in gold by the summer, huge cup where the star drinks fragrances, the airs freshness and the clouds water. The pine forests are its hedges and the ponds its dew drops, and its pistil is that golden palace seen by the nymph in her dreams descending from heaven.
Rescue
The Pic du Canigou shot to fame in England in late May 2008, when a group of teenage air cadets, from Tynemouth, UK were involved in a daring rescue. The lives of two stricken Belgian nationals, who had succumbed to injuries due the intense winter conditions and falling several hundred feet, were saved in a rescue mission lasting several hours. The daring rescue concluded with the Securitie Civil air detachment, based at Perpignan, airlifting the injured walkers to hospital for treatment of their injuries and extreme exposure. This rescue received intense local press coverage in the UK, and national press coverage to a lesser extent.The young cadets were awarded Life Saver of the year awards from St John's Ambulance and both leaders also received awards. The expedition leader, Flight Lieutenant Will Close-Ash was awarded the Life Saving Medal of the Order of St John of Jerusalem. The silver medal, which has been awarded to only 170 people in the last 100 years, was confirmed by the Queen in October and is awarded for someone who shows “a conspicuous act of gallantry while endangering his own life”.
Flt Lt Close-Ash received his award from the Grand Prior, Sir Brian Jenkins GBE, at a special investiture at the Priory Headquarters in Clerkenwell, London. The Venerable Order of Saint John
Venerable Order of Saint John
The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem , is a royal order of chivalry established in 1831 and found today throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Hong Kong, Ireland and the United States of America, with the world-wide mission "to prevent and relieve sickness and...
is a Royal Order of Chivalry with the Queen as head. It originates from the Knights Hospitaller
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
founded in 1080 to care for the poor.
No more than two people are presented with the award each year and fewer than 170 Silver medals have been awarded since they were instituted in 1874.
See also
- Prieuré de Serrabone
- St-Martin-du-Canigou monastery.
- Vernet-les-BainsVernet-les-BainsVernet-les-Bains is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.It is a centre for visitors and holidaymakers. The village enjoys a sunny climate and is set in a sheltered valley in the foothills of the Canigou mountain - which rises to a height of 2,785 metres...
- Pyrenees Rescue
External links
- http://www.courseducanigou.com/ One of the best mountain marathon races in Europe - to the summit of Canigou and back from Vernet-les-Bains
- Walks to the summit of Canigou (PDF)