Banyuls-sur-Mer

Banyuls-sur-Mer
A general view of Banyuls-sur-Mer
Coat of arms
Banyuls-sur-Mer
Location within Languedoc-Roussillon region Banyuls-sur-Mer
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Languedoc-Roussillon-Midi-Pyrénées
Department	Pyrénées-Orientales
Arrondissement	Céret
Canton	Côte Vermeille
Intercommunality	Communauté de communes des Albères et de la Côte Vermeille
Government
• Mayor (2014-2020)	Jean-Michel Solé
Area1	42.34 km2 (16.35 sq mi)
Population (2012)2	4,652
• Density	110/km2 (280/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	66016 / 66650
Elevation	0–965 m (0–3,166 ft) (avg. 6 m or 20 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Banyuls-sur-Mer (Catalan: Banyuls de la Marenda) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.

Geography

Banyuls-sur-Mer is located in the canton of Côte Vermeille and in the arrondissement of Céret.

Banyuls-sur-Mer is neighbored by Cerbère, Port-Vendres, Argelès-sur-Mer and Collioure. The foothills of Pyrenees, the Monts Albères, run into the Mediterranean Sea in Banyuls-sur-Mer, creating a steep cliff line.

Map of Banyuls-sur-Mer and its surrounding communes

Toponymy

Banyuls-sur-Mer was first mentioned in 981 as Balneum or Balneola. In 1074, the town starts being called Bannils de Maritimo in order to distinguish it from Banyuls-dels-Aspres, which lies 20 km (12 mi) away. In 1197, the town is mentioned as Banullis de Maredine and in 1674. In Catalan, it has been called Banyuls de la Marenda, since the 19th century.

The name Banyuls indicates the presence of a pond. In fact, a pond did exist in Banyuls-sur-Mer until the creek Vallauria was drained in 1872. The term Marenda in Catalan or sur Mer in French merely indicates the proximity to the coast.

Government and politics

Mayors

Mayor	Term start	Term end
René Ribère	1977	1983
Jean Rède	1983	1995
Pierre Becque	1995	2001
Roger Rulls	2001	2008
Jean Rède	2008	2014
Jean-Michel Solé	2014

International relations

Banyuls-sur-Mer is twinned with a small town called Settle which is in North Yorkshire, United Kingdom and also with town of Kralupy nad Vltavou located in Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic.

Demography

"Fête des Vendanges", Vintage festival on the beach, each year in October

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1836	2,022	—
1901	3,111	+53.9%
1962	4,271	+37.3%
1968	4,436	+3.9%
1975	4,000	−9.8%
1982	4,093	+2.3%
1990	4,662	+13.9%
1999	4,532	−2.8%
2006	4,632	+2.2%
2009	4,686	+1.2%

Sports

• Banyuls-sur-Mer is the eastern end of the GR 10 long distance footpath.
• Banyuls is a centre for scuba diving. The main dive site of the area is the marine reserve at Cap Rederis. Local dive schools offer excellent facilities.
• Sea Kayaking is also available here.

Economy

For nearly two centuries, the smuggling of goods to and from Spain was a major activity in Banyuls-sur-Mer. Depending on the needs of the time, salt, tobacco, silver, sugar, rice, textiles, and leather were smuggled through this city, almost always with impunity. Otherwise the inhabitants lived mainly from fishing and viticulture. Nowadays, tourism stemming from the wine industry plays a significant economic role in the town notably for delicious and rare red dessert wines. Under the Collioure appellation, the town is also a center of quality dry reds, rosés and whites, with a number of producers of natural wines.

Notable people

• Aristide Maillol (1861-1944), French sculptor and painter, born and died in Banyuls-sur-Mer.
• Emil Racovita (1868-1947), Romanian polar explorer, former co-director of the Arago laboratory.
• Jean de La Hire (1878-1956), writer born in Banyuls-sur-Mer.
• Marc Eyraud (1924-2005), actor, died in Banyuls-sur-Mer.

See also

• Communes of the Pyrénées-Orientales department

References

• INSEE commune file

External links

• Official website