Opoul-Périllos
|
Opoul-Périllos Òpol i Perellós |
|
|---|---|
| Commune | |
The village of Opoul, in the commune of Opoul-Périllos
|
|
 Opoul-Périllos
|
|
|
Location within Occitanie region
Opoul-Périllos
|
|
| Coordinates: 42°52′15″N 2°52′28″E / 42.8708°N 2.8744°ECoordinates: 42°52′15″N 2°52′28″E / 42.8708°N 2.8744°E | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Occitanie |
| Department | Pyrénées-Orientales |
| Arrondissement | Perpignan |
| Canton | La Vallée de l'Agly |
| Intercommunality | Perpignan Méditerranée Métropole |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2008–2014) | Freddy Deschaux-Beaume |
| Area1 | 50.53 km2 (19.51 sq mi) |
| Population (2005)2 | 726 |
| • Density | 14/km2 (37/sq mi) |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 66127 /66600 |
| Elevation | 100–709 m (328–2,326 ft) (avg. 161 m or 528 ft) |
|
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. |
|
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
Opoul-Périllos (French pronunciation: [opul peʁiˈjos]; Catalan: Òpol i Perellós, IPA: [ˈɔpuɫ i pəɾəˈʎos], locally [ˈopuɫ i pəɾiˈʎus]) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.
Opoul-Périllos is located in the canton of La Vallée de l'Agly and in the arrondissement of Perpignan.
The commune's highest point, Montoliu de Perellós (707 meters, a summit located next to the river Aude), stands as the northernmost point in Catalan-speaking countries.
Opoul-Périllos spreads over a large area of 5,053 hectares (12,486 acres). In its present form it dates from January 1, 1972, when both villages where integrated into one single commune (Perellós, a tiny hamlet located some 10 km up into the mountain, had been virtually deserted since the end of World War II, the 1968 census returning just 4 inhabitants).
The area is dominated by limestone with numerous karst (caves, crevices, sinkholes). The village lies in a depression where the limestone is mixed with red clay. The town is crossed from north to south by Ròbol, a tributary of the Aglí river.
The main (and almost, only) crop is the vineyard.
The village of Opoul is mentioned as Oped at about 1100, and as Opidum in 1149. These repeated spellings leave no doubt about the etymology: Òpol derives from oppidum, Latin for "fortress". However, the transition from Oped to Òpol (Opulo and Castell d'Òpol on the 13th and 14th centuries, respectively) is rather surprising. It would be logical to assume *Opedol as a diminutive form of Oped, which could have designated a small castle in the village as opposed to the fortress which dominates it (it is worth mentioning that the medieval fortress overlooking the village has been known as "castell de Salvaterra" from the 13th century onwards (salvaterra being Catalan for "safe land", "asylum place").
...
Wikipedia