Prats de Molló
1-
Porte de France, this is the most important of the 5 gates of then town which has been
encircled by ramparts since 1345. These were destroyed by an earthquake in
1428. They were rebuilt only to be destroyed again by the troops of Louis XIV,
in reprisal for the rebellion of the “Little Angels of the Land” during the
Salt War. Finally, in 1683, they were rebuilt by the villagers under the
supervision of Marshal Vauban’s engineers.
To the left of the gate is a monument by
the sculptor Manolo Valiente erected in 1982. It pays tribute to the Catalan
traditional dance, the sardine, and draws attention to the little “Ciutat
Pubilla” bestowed on the town in 1982 as the leading centre of the Sardane in
North Catalonia.
2-
Place Josep de la Trinxeria, this square is named after the valiant captain who,
together with his brave hand of “Little Angels of the Land” stood firm against
the troops of Louis XIV from 1661 to 1670. To the right is the town hall, built
between 1613 to 1614. There is a plaque commemorating the 1000 years of the
town’s history and the date on which the first church was consecrated 928 AD.
To the left is the hause in which the Catalan writer, Charles Bosch de la
Trinxeria, was born.
3-
Place d’armes,
military parades were held in this square from 1659, when Prats became a
garrison town on the settlement of the treaty of the Pyrenees, until 1939.
6-
The fortified church, dating from 982 this was the first church built in the village; only
the monolithic front to thre left of the entrance remains. Of particular
interest are: The Romanesque door way (1245); non-rusting door fittings forged
by a traditional Catalan Technique; the guilded wooden reredos by the sculptor
Louis Generes, considered one of the finest examples of its style; The whale
bone embedded in the right facing wall which was a votive offering. The church
was enlarged between 1649 and 1681.
7-
Chapelle de la Pietat, contains statues which were paraded at Easter processions and a Christ
in Majesty.
9-
Porte de la Fabrique, this gate is named after the religious institution, formed by elected
representatives of the faithful, which managed religious buildings in the 17th
and 18th centuries. The gate leads to Fort Lagard by a covered way
followed by a tunnel.
10-
Passage de la Dôme, rampart walk with the powder magazine and defensive loopholes.
11-
Pont de la Guilleme, fortified bridge with Romanesque culvert below with iron grills to
deny access by enemies from the river approach.
12-
Plaça del Rei, in
this square in the 11th century stood the summer residence of the
counts of Besalú, who were the seigneurs of the town. The square has been
restored by the local artist Jean Lareuse.
13-
Rues des Marcahnts, this was the street of weavers and embroiderers who formed powerful
guilds in the 17th and 18th centuries. A few of the
original medieval houses are still in existence.
16-
Porte du Verger, from this gate the upper Tech valley can be seen to the west with the
mount Costa bona (2464 m) and the Esquerdes de Rotja. To the south is the Tour
de Mir (1540 m) a signal tower dating backto the 13th century.
17-
Rue des Rois D’Aragon, follow this street through the upper town and you will see on the left
a particularly outstanding building, supposed to be the summer residence of the
kings of Aragon but more probably the weaver’s guildhall.
19-
Porte d’Espagne, go through the ancient Spanish Gate to the narrow bridge below which
can be seen the remains of the medieval arches of the original bridge.
20-
Chapelle des Saintes Juste et Ruffine, from the Porte d’Espagne, walk back
through the lower town to the place d’Armes and then take the rue des Stes
Juste et Ruffine to the chapel decorated by the local artist Jean Lareuse.
22-
Le Firal,
this is the square where markets and fairs have been held since 1308; it was
redesigned in 1767.On the south side is the school (1907) and the Foyer Rural
(1968). On the east side is the Syndicat d’Initiative (Tourist Information
Centre 1985).
Fort Lagarde dominates the town. It can be reached on
food from the Porte de la Fabrique, beyond the church, either by following the
covered walk, 170 m long built in 1851, to the Tour Carrée or Redoute (square
tower) then the tunnel 100 m long or by the path to the right.
A round tower was first built in 1307
under the aragonese rulers in a place called La Gardia (The Watch). This tower
is located in the middle of the star-shaped donjon of the fort, the building of
which was started in 1677 under the direction of Vauban; However, a large
number of modifications and reinforcements were latter added lasting up to
1858. The general plans were firstly devised by Rousselot and completed by
Maréchal de Vauban, royal commissioner for fortifications of Louis XIV, who
visited prats in 1679. The original plans envisaged a fort twice the size of
the actual construction which contains more than 40 rooms armoury, provision
warehouse, powder magazines, a chapel, guardhouse, dungeon, kitchens with bread
ovens and barracks for a hundred men.
The water supply was prvided by a spring.
However, in order to mitigate the affects of a siege a sophisticated system of
collecting rain water into underground reservoirs was constructed.
The fort was originally intended to
protect the French border and subsequently to stop a new revolt by the Angelets
(The local inhabitants who disapproved of taxes imposed by the king of France
following the annexation of Catalonia into his kingdom).