| L'Hospitalet-près-l'Andorre | |
| Commune Status: | Commune |
| Arrondissement: | Foix |
| Canton: | Haute-Ariège |
| Insee: | 09139 |
| Postal Code: | 09390 |
| Mayor: | Arnaud Diaz[1] |
| Term: | 2020 - 2026 |
| Coordinates: | 42.5917°N 1.8039°W |
| Elevation M: | 1446 |
| Elevation Min M: | 1279 |
| Elevation Max M: | 2816 |
| Area Km2: | 26.12 |
L'Hospitalet-près-l'Andorre (pronounced as /fr/, literally L'Hospitalet near the Andorra; oc|L'Espitalet) is a commune in the Ariège department of southwestern France.
The area has a history of vulnerability to winter avalanches: one such in 1895 killed 12 (nearly 10% of the commune's population at the time), and much destruction was also caused in 1906 and 1929.[2] [3] Avalanches have from time to time blocked the N20, the main road through the commune, the most recent case being in 2008.[4]
The Andorre-L'Hospitalet station – served by TER Occitanie regional trains between Toulouse and Latour-de-Carol and the overnight Intercités de nuit service between Paris and Latour-de-Carol – is an important international transport node for the nearby principality of Andorra, to which the station is connected by a bus link.
The village has a Mairie from which local government is organised. There is an elected mayor. The office is currently held by Arnaud Diaz.
There is a hotel in the village centre, the Hôtel du Puymorens, which has both a bar and a restaurant open to non-residents, and available to local residents. There is also a small guest house in the main street, operated as part of the French Gîtes system, with a small shop for essential supplies. There are few businesses trading in the village, although there is a small engineering company. There is a primary school, whose buildings include a residential youth centre for visiting groups. A school bus visits L'Hospitalet daily to transport older children to secondary school.
Roman Catholicism is the only organised religion in the community. There is a parish church, with churchyard, in the main street. Although the village has no resident priest, services are held regularly.