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A
BRIEF HISTORY
PERPIGNAN
is a former Roman villa built in the area of RUSCINO, which was already an
ancient town. Now named Chateau Roussillon (CASTELL-ROSELLO).
CHATEAU ROUSSILLON was very probably the origin of PERPIGNAN (in the year
927 villa PERPINIANIUM).
During the X century, it became the property of the Counts of Roussillon.
In the XII century it was fortified and included the only parish of SAINT-JEAN
BAPTISTE (St John the Baptist).
Then in the XII century it knew a period of prosperity thanks to its commerce
and its agriculture. Then the parishes of SAINT-JACQUES (St James), LA REAL,
SAINT-MATHIEU (St Matthew) and SAINT-JEAN (St John) were, in turn, protected
by fortifications. The King of ARAGON became the mayor of the ROUSSILLON in
1172. JACQUES I the Conqueror, (James I), gave the ROUSSILLON to his son,
King of MAJORCA, in 1278.
He
was succeeded by SANCHO and JACQUES III.
PERPIGNAN became the capital of this new “province” until 1462 when
King LOUIS XI seized it. Up until that time the town had known richness and
prosperity. Then, during the reign of LOUIS XI, there was misery, famine and
epidemics. In 1659, LOUIS XIV signed the Treaty of the Pyrenees and allowed
the ROUSSILLON to become permanently French. Various fortifications
were built by VAUBAN.
1840
was the beginning of a new favourable era with the building of the Castillet
Bridge, the embankments of the Basse river from the Palace of Justice to the
Prefecture.
Today PERPIGNAN is a dynamic centre and is the second town in CATALONIA, after
BARCELONA. The closeness and economic exchanges between these two towns, one
French one Spanish, have enabled them to prepare for EUROPE in an active way.
But Perpignan is a Catalan town before being a French one.
VISIT & LOOK AT :
The monuments
•
The HOTEL DE VILLE (Town
Hall), Place de la Loge.
Built in several stages in the XIII, XVI and XVII centuries.
It is recognisable by its Catalan architecture and its wide iron gates. In
the patio can be found a masterpiece by MAILLOL: the bronze of the Mediterranean.
• The PALAIS DE LA DEPUTATION, (Palais of the Deputation),
Place de la Loge.
- Built in the XV century, the Palace of the Deputation is next to the Town
Hall.
• The LOGE DE LA MER (Loge of the Sea), Place de la
Loge.
Formerly a commercial exchange, it then became the centre of the consular
jurisdiction. Built in 1397, it still has its weather vane which can be admired
on the corner of the building.
• SAINT DOMINIQUE’S CHAPEL, rue Rabelais.
Built in the XIII century, its architecture is both Gothic and Romanesque.
A fire devastated its monastery in the XVI century. Its reconstruction took
place in 1790 thanks to Pope CLEMENT. The town acquired the chapel in 1976.
• SAINT-JEAN's CATHEDRAL, place Gambetta.
Built in 1324 and transformed in 1433, the SAINT-JEAN collegiate only became
a cathedral in 1601.
• SAINT-JACQUES' CHURCH, rue de la Miranda. Building
began in the XIV century and finished in the XVIII century. There are some
beautiful reredos in the Catalan style.
• SAINTE-MARIE DE LA REAL CHURCH, 2 rue la Real. It
was the church of the regal district.
• LA MAISON DE LA MAIN DE FER (the House of the Iron
Hand), rue de la Main de Fer.
Situated near Saint-Jean's Cathedral, the House of the Iron Hand was built
in 1509 by a Perpignan ship owner by the name of Bernard XANCHO.
• THE HOUSE IN THEATRE STREET, 7 rue du Theatre. This
is an elegant house in the Renaissance style built at the end of the XVI century.
• THE HOUSE OF JULIA, rue Fabrique Nabot. This private
house has been remarkably preserved.
• THE PALAIS DES CORTS (the Palace of the Corts), place
des Orfèvres. Currently the headquarters of the Red Cross, this ancient Court
of Justice is made up of an elegant gallery built at the beginning of the
XV century by a Norman architect : Raoul VAUTER.
• THE RUE DES MARCHANDS (Merchants' Street)
Formerly a wholesalers' street, it has preserved most of its XIII and XV century
houses with their canopies.
• THE PALAIS DES ROIS DE MAJORQUE (Palace of the Majorcan
Kings), rue des Archers.
Built in 1276 at the heart of the Citadel, this marvellous monument shows
the prosperity of the period. Its architecture is remarkable.
An unavoidable visit!
Information - phone: 04 68 34 48 39. Open every day : Summer 10 am to 6 pm.
Winter : 9 am to 5.
• THE CASTILLET.
Built with red bricks in 1368, the Castillet was the northern defence of the
town before becoming a state prison in 1476, during the first French occupation.
The leaders of the "MIQUELETS" (from the Conflent and the Vallespir)
were locked up here by the King of France, LOUIS XIV following profound disagreements.
MUSEUMS
TO VISITS
• The JOSEPH PUIG museum , 42 avenue de Grande Bretagne.
The Numismatic Museum. Information - phone: 04 68 34 11 70
Opening times: Summer : 9.15 am to 12 noon and 3.15 pm to 7 pm
Winter : 8.45 am to 12 noon and 1.45 pm to 6 pm. Entrance free.
• The H. RIGAUD museum , 16 rue de l'Ange
Information - phone: 04 68 35 43 40 / 04 68 34 73 47
Opening times: Summer 9.30 am to 12 noon and 2.30 pm to 7 pm .
Winter : 9 am to 12 noon and 2 pm to 6 pm. (closed on Tuesdays) Entrance free.
• The CASA PAIRAL, PAIRAL museum, Place de Verdun (situated
inside the Castillet)
Catalan exhibition of art and popular traditions.
Information - phone: 04 68 35 42 05
Opening times: 9 am to 7 pm (except Tuesdays) Entrance free.
• The NATURAL HISTORY museum, Place Fontaine Neuve.
Exhibition of birds, animals, minerals and fossils from the "SERRAT d'EN
VAQUER".
Information - phone: 04 68 35 50 87
Opening times: Summer
9.30 am to 12 noon and 2.30 pm to 7 pm .
Winter : 9 am to 12 noon and 2 pm to 6 pm. (except Tuesdays) Entrance free.
• The FRENCH ALGERIAN MUSEUM
52 rue Marechal Foch (2nd floor)
This visit takes approximately one hour and gives an idea as to what life
used to be in Algeria .
Information - phone: 04 68 80 41 54
Opening times: 3 pm to 6 pm (on Wednesdays by appointment). Entrance free.
WALK
around the town ...
Taking one of the main roads such as the boulevard Clemenceau, which leads
from the railway station (which, according to Salvador Dali, is the centre
of the world), to the Galeries Lafayette where you will discover the left
bank of the Basse river, the Quai Vauban, its shops and shopping arcades.
On the right bank, the quai Sadi-Carnot. You can wander through the heart of the town centre with its narrow pedestrian shopping streets (rue Mailly, rue de l'Ange, rue de la Cloche d'Or....)
Once at the Republique car park with its market, you will be very close to the "Flavours district", and its shops with distinct features both in the rue Paratilla and in the market on the place des Poilus (on Saturday and Sunday mornings).
Strolling down the rue de la Barre you will arrive at the rue Louis Blanc and its charming shops tastefully furbished. You will then be at the foot of the CASTILLET.
You may then take the boulevard Wilson towards Canet (or walk under the plane trees which lead to the CONGRESS CENTRE), up the boulevard Jean Bourat which runs along side the gardens. At the top you can turn left towards Canet or right into the boulevard Anatole France .
You will find on your right the Place Cassanyes with its picturesque, heterogeneous market. If you continue straight up the boulevard Aristide Briand you will have a choice of itineraries at the traffic lights of the Rond Point de la Croix Rouge. To the left, the boulevard Kennedy leads to Argelès-sur-Mer, to the right the boulevard Poincaré brings you back into the centre of town. Straight ahead takes you towards the the Moulin à Vent district, a town within a town (access also possible via the boulevard Kennedy).
[ Perpignan
| The
plain | Les
Albères | Les
Aspres | La
Cerdagne | Le
Capcir | Le
Conflent | The
coast | La
Salanque | Le
Fenouillèdes | Le
Vallespir | Southern
Catalonia ]
