Arles-sur-Tech

The abbey of Saint Mary of Arles-sur-Tech (Catalan: Santa Maria d'Arles; French: Sainte-Marie d'Arles-sur-Tech, Notre-Dame d'Arles-sur-Tech) was a Benedictine monastery in Arles-sur-Tech in the Vallespir between the ninth century and the eighteenth. It was dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, and belonged to the diocese of Perpignan.The abbey was in existence by the early ninth century. As the "monastery of Vallespir", it is listed in the Notice of the Service of the Monasteries, compiled in 819 for Emperor Louis the Pious. It is placed in the province of Septimania and is recorded as owing prayers for the imperial family, but not military service or taxes.The independent existence of the monastery came to an end in 1592. At the request of King Philip II of Spain, the abbey of Arles-sur-Tech was united with the abbey of Saint-André-de-Sorède by a bull of Pope Clement VIII dated 13 August 1592. At that time the abbey of Sorède had no monks and Arles had only eight. At the start of the French Revolution in 1789, the united monastery had only six monks. The building was spared destruction and expropriation, but the abbey was dissolved and the building became the parish church.

The Canton of Arles-sur-Tech is a French former canton of Pyrénées-Orientales department, in Languedoc-Roussillon. It had 7,197 inhabitants (2012). It was disbanded following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015.

Vallespir (French pronunciation: [valɛspiʁ] or [vajɛspiʁ] ; Catalan pronunciation: [ˌvaʎəsˈpi]) is a historical Catalan comarca in Northern Catalonia, part of the French department of Pyrénées-Orientales. The capital of the comarca is Ceret, and it borders Conflent, Rosselló, Alt Empordà, Garrotxa and Ripollès. It lies in the Tech River valley. The main towns in the Vallespir are Ceret, Amelie Les Bains, Arles Sur Tech and Prats De Mollo La Preste.

Montbolo (French pronunciation: [mɔ̃bɔlo] ; Catalan: Montboló) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.

The canton of Le Canigou is an administrative division of the Pyrénées-Orientales department, in southern France. It was created at the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. Its seat is in Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda.It consists of the following communes:

Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda (French pronunciation: [ameli le bɛ̃ palalda] ; Catalan: Els Banys i Palaldà) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Prior to 1942, it was known as Amélie-les-Bains. It is situated in the Tech valley, and combines the old and the new with a mix of narrow cobbled streets and modern accommodation. It has become a 'station verte' meaning that it must strive at all times to ensure that tourists benefit from a calm and natural environment.

Palalda is a former commune in Pyrénées-Orientales, now part of Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda.

Corsavy (French pronunciation: [kɔʁsavi] ; Catalan: Cortsaví) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. It is part of the historical Vallespir comarca.

Taulis (French pronunciation: [tolis] ; Catalan: Teulís) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.

Montferrer (French pronunciation: [mɔ̃fɛʁe] ) is a commune in the southern part of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in the Occitanie region of southern France. Its inhabitants are called Montferrerois. Historically and culturally, the commune is in the Vallespir, a former viscounty (incorporated in the Middle Ages into the viscounty of Castelnou), annexed to France by the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659) and roughly corresponding to the Tech Valley from its source to Céret. Exposed to a modified oceanic climate, it is drained by the Tech River, the Saint-Laurent River, the Fou River, and two other watercourses. The commune has a remarkable natural heritage: a Natura 2000 site ("le Tech") and a natural area of ecological interest, fauna, and flora. Montferrer is a rural commune with 197 inhabitants in 2020, after reaching a population peak of 883 inhabitants in 1806. It is part of the Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda attraction area. The Gorges de la Fou serve as the boundary between the communes of Montferrer and Corsavy. The location is particularly remarkable: over a length of about two kilometers, the gorges reach a depth of 250 meters, sometimes narrowing to not exceed the width of one meter between the two walls. Unfortunately, the gorges are currently off-limits to the public: between 300 and 600 cubic meters of rock have detached from the wall, making the visit to the site dangerous. According to a study, it would take between 18 and 24 million euros to restore the gorges.

Saint-Laurent-de-Cerdans (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ loʁɑ̃ də sɛʁdɑ̃] ; Catalan: Sant Llorenç de Cerdans) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.

Reynès (French pronunciation: [ʁɛnɛs] ; Catalan: Reiners) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.