Religious architecture
Romanesque art. The presence of marble in the department, and its use in buildings, will give it a character of its own. The Pyrenees-Orientales are rich in marvellous small churches or important abbeys built in the 11th and 12th centuries; under their modest appearance, they are full of treasures in statues, maidens and Romanesque furniture of an exceptional beauty. The most emblematic buildings are: the priory of Serrabone, the abbeys of Saint-Michel de Cuxa or Saint-Martin du Canigó, or the cloister of Elne to name but a few. But the sensitivity of each one will determine its preferences. One will gladly go in search of the sculptures of the Master of Cabestany, recognizable among all, on the Tympanums.
Gothic and Baroque art. The painted and gilded altarpieces are true masterpieces of Gothic art and later of the flamboyant Baroque, such as the hospices of Ille, the altarpieces of the churches of Prades, Font-Romeu, Vinça, Baixas or Osséja, sculpted by Joseph Sunyer, the paintings of Hyacinthe Rigaud in the cathedral of Saint-Jean de Perpignan or in the church of Saint-Jacques, who later became the portraitist of Louis XIV. It would be reductive to mention only these. The Tourist Offices in all the villages of the Department will be happy to advise you.
Military architecture
Vauban
How can we talk about military architecture without mentioning Vauban? At the request of Louis XIV, and to contain the revolt of the "Angelets", who refused to pay the gabelle, in 1669, the ramparts of Prats-de-Mollo were raised. Then, since ten years before, the county of Roussillon had been given back by Spain to France, he consolidated the borders, the fortress of Salses in the north, the fort Saint-Elme in Collioure, the fort of Bellegarde in Perthus, the fort Libéria in Villefranche-de-Conflent and especially he made build the highest fortress of France by naming it after his king "Mont Louis". The state of preservation of the buildings is incredible, proof if it were that the Sun King's architect was an outstanding military builderSignal towers
In order to see danger coming from afar and to quickly inform the armed troops ready to defend Catalonia, the summits of our mountains and hills were topped with lookouts called "signal towers". The origins of these towers are not clearly defined, but their golden age was during the reign of the kings of Majorca (1276-1344). During the 13th century, they built numerous towers to protect their threatened kingdom, thus completing an already existing but under-performing network. Wherever there was a need to protect a valley or an access to the sea, there was a tower! The whole of Catalonia was covered by this dense network of small circular towers. As indicated in their name, they emitted signals, but not just any signals, these were made by smoke during the day and by a blazing fire at night. In a way precursors of Morse code, it was a very effective system since a message leaving Perpignan arrived in Barcelona about 2h30 later (the TGV takes 1h20!). The defence system of the signal towers was to last until the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659), when the Catalan countries north of the Pyrenees were annexed by France, rendering the tower system useless. Vauban completely reorganised the defence system, abandoning the signal towers in favour of imposing fortifications capable of ensuring their own defence.Civil architecture
Viggo Dorph Petersen: the architect of the Art Nouveau dream
In the department, according to its peregrinations, one does not fail to notice these castles and residences, with the paradoxical and tasty notes bavaroises or with the airs of beautiful residences of edge of the Loire which decorate, here and there, the Eastern Pyrenees. Majestic, elegant and rarely discreet, these somewhat "exotic" buildings in this Mediterranean landscape are the work of the Danish architect Viggo Dorph Petersen (Barfredsshøj, 1851 - Perpignan, 1937), who, influenced by Barcelona's Art Nouveau, cheerfully mixed the slender aesthetics of the neo-Gothic with the romanticism of the Bavarian castles. It was at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, in the middle of the Belle Epoque period, that this talented architect left his characteristic mark on the buildings of the local upper middle class, who at last dared, following the example of what was happening all over Europe, to display their economic success and their attraction for a certain ostentatious luxury in a totally uninhibited way. Imposing dimensions, airy turrets, elaborate bell towers, long asymmetrical windows, bow windows and ceramic floral medallions on the facade form bold but harmonious mixes of styles to which many local notables, wishing to display their wealth and good taste, succumb. One owes with Petersen some of the most original residences of this hinge of the two last centuries among which the Valmy Castles (Argelès) and Aubiry (Céret). This unconditional lover of the Pyrenees-Orientales, that was Viggo-Dorph Petersen, will spend the rest of his life in his department of heart. Appointed vice-consul of Denmark in Perpignan in 1909, he died in his adopted city in 1937. Atypical and innovative, he left us an impressive heritage and one of the most beautiful pages of our contemporary heritage.Engineering structures
The Yellow Train railway line (el tren groc) is without question a technical feat in itself. No less than 650 engineering structures were necessary for its construction on only 60 kilometres between Villefranche-de-Conflent and Latour-de-Carol. Who can say better? The Séjourné bridge (also called the Fontpédrouse bridge) is proof of this. Built in 1906-1908, this masonry railway viaduct is 236.70 metres long and rises 65 metres above the bed of the Têt and the N116. Despite more than a century of good and loyal service, it has not aged a bit and allows the passage of 400,000 passengers a year in all weathers. It would be a pity to contemplate it from the road, the most impressive part being the crossing on board the "Canari".
