Bourg-Madame Explained

Bourg-Madame
Native Name:La Guingueta d'Ix
Commune Status:Commune
Image Coat Of Arms:Escut de la Guingueta d'Ix.svg
Arrondissement:Prades
Canton:Les Pyrénées catalanes
Insee:66025
Postal Code:66760
Mayor:Daniel Armisen[1]
Term:2020 - 2026
Intercommunality:Pyrénées Cerdagne
Coordinates:42.4353°N 1.9447°W
Elevation M:1130
Elevation Min M:1130
Elevation Max M:1235
Area Km2:7.85

Bourg-Madame (in French pronounced as /buʁ madam/; Catalan; Valencian: La Guingueta d'Ix) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.[2]

Geography

Localisation

Bourg-Madame is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement of Prades. It lies right on the border with Spain. It abuts directly onto the Spanish town of Puigcerdà, and is near the Spanish exclave of Llívia.

Toponymy

The town used to be known in French as Les Guinguettes,[3] until 1815 when it was renamed Bourg-Madame in honour of the wife of the Duke of Angoulême. The Catalan name for the town is still the traditional one.

History

In the 20th century, Bourg-Madame was the site of a camp housing Republican escapees from Spain at the end of the Spanish Civil War.[4]

Government and politics

Mayors

MayorTerm startTerm end
Thomas Casals[5] 1930?
Jean Salvat[6] 19451965
Joseph Calvet19651995
Jean-Jacques Fortuny19952020
Daniel Armisen2020incumbent

Transport

Roads

The following major roads lead to Bourg-Madame:

Railways

Bourg-Madame is located at a key point of intersection for railways that link Toulouse, Barcelona, and Valencia (as well as Perpignan to the east via the Yellow Train).

The railway station is located in the Arena district.

International relations

The commune is twinned with:

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Répertoire national des élus: les maires. data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 2 December 2020. fr.
  2. https://www.insee.fr/fr/metadonnees/cog/commune/COM66025-bourg-madame INSEE commune file
  3. http://www.jtosti.com/villages/bourgmadame.htm Jtosti.com
  4. Book: Beevor . Antony . The Spanish Civil War . 2001 . Cassell Military Paperbacks . London . 0-304-35840-1 . 394.
  5. Fabricio Cardenas, Vieux papiers des Pyrénées-Orientales, Bombardement collatéral en Cerdagne, janvier 1938, 23 december 2014
  6. L'Indépendant, La parole aux deux nouveaux sénateurs, 5 october 2011