Villefranche-de-Conflent
Encyclopedia
Villefranche-de-Conflent is a commune
in the Pyrénées-Orientales
department in south of France
.
The town is tightly packed within the original castle walls and is bounded on one side by the road running up into the Cerdagne
and on the other by the Conflent
of the rivers Tet
and Cady
.
consists of 12 groups of fortified buildings and sites along the western, northern and eastern borders of France. They were designed by Vauban
(1633–1707), and were added in 2008 to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Pyrénées-Orientales
Pyrénées-Orientales
Pyrénées-Orientales is a department of southern France adjacent to the northern Spanish frontier and the Mediterranean Sea. It also surrounds the tiny Spanish enclave of Llívia, and thus has two distinct borders with Spain.- History :...
department in south of 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...
.
The Capital of Conflent
The original town dates from 1098 and is fortified because of its strategic position in lands that changed hands between French and Spanish occupation.- 1374, Villefranche resists to the siege of Jaume IIIJames III of MajorcaJames III , called the Rash or the Unfortunate, son of Ferdinand of Majorca and Isabelle de Sabran, heiress of Principality of Achaea, was the King of Majorca from 1324 to 1344. He was the last independent king of Majorca of the House of Barcelona.James was born at Catania...
the son of last king of Majorca. - In July 1654, the French capture the city after eight days, and the troops of Louis XIV take PuigcerdaPuigcerdàPuigcerdà is the capital of the Catalan comarca of Cerdanya, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, northern Spain, near the river Segre and the border with France .- History :...
from the Spaniards.
The town is tightly packed within the original castle walls and is bounded on one side by the road running up into the Cerdagne
Cerdanya
Cerdanya is a natural comarca and historical region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain. Historically it has been one of the counties of Catalonia....
and on the other by the Conflent
Conflent
Conflent is a historical Catalan comarca of Northern Catalonia, now part of the French Département of Pyrénées-Orientales. In the Middle Ages it comprised the County of Conflent....
of the rivers Tet
Tet
Tet can mean:*Tết or Tết Nguyên Đán, the Vietnamese new year**Tet Offensive, a military campaign that began in 1968*Têt in Roussillon, France*Equal temperament, abbreviated as 12-TET, 19-TET and so on...
and Cady
Cady
-People:* Carol Cady, shot putter and discus thrower* Charlie Cady, baseball player* Claude E. Cady, politician* Daniel Cady, jurist * E. F. Cady, co-founder of Cadyville, USA* Frank Cady, actor* Hamilton Cady, chemist...
.
UNESCO World Heritage
The Fortifications of VaubanFortifications of Vauban
Fortifications of Vauban consists of 12 groups of fortified buildings and sites along the western, northern and eastern borders of France. They were designed by Vauban , and were added in 2008 to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites....
consists of 12 groups of fortified buildings and sites along the western, northern and eastern borders of France. They were designed by Vauban
Vauban
Sébastien Le Prestre, Seigneur de Vauban and later Marquis de Vauban , commonly referred to as Vauban, was a Marshal of France and the foremost military engineer of his age, famed for his skill in both designing fortifications and breaking through them...
(1633–1707), and were added in 2008 to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The Train jaune
Villefranche-de-Conflent is the start and finish train station for the scenic 'Train Jaune' Yellow trainYellow train
The Ligne de Cerdagne, often called the Yellow Train , is a metre gauge railway that runs from Villefranche-de-Conflent through to Mont-Louis in France. It was started in 1903 and the section to Mont-Louis was completed in 1910, followed by an extension to Latour-de-Carol in 1927.It is long and...
.
See also
- Communes of the Pyrénées-Orientales department
- Fortifications of VaubanFortifications of VaubanFortifications of Vauban consists of 12 groups of fortified buildings and sites along the western, northern and eastern borders of France. They were designed by Vauban , and were added in 2008 to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites....
- Yellow trainYellow trainThe Ligne de Cerdagne, often called the Yellow Train , is a metre gauge railway that runs from Villefranche-de-Conflent through to Mont-Louis in France. It was started in 1903 and the section to Mont-Louis was completed in 1910, followed by an extension to Latour-de-Carol in 1927.It is long and...
- Les Plus Beaux Villages de FranceLes Plus Beaux Villages de FranceLes Plus Beaux Villages de France is an independent association, created in 1982, which aims to promote assets of small and picturesque French villages of quality heritage...