Céret
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Commune of Céret |
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| Location | |
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| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Languedoc-Roussillon |
| Department | Pyrénées-Orientales (sous-préfecture) |
| Arrondissement | Céret |
| Canton | Céret |
| Mayor | Alain Torrent (2001-2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 107 m–1,440 m (avg. 154 m) |
| Land area¹ | 37.86 km² |
| Population² (1999) |
7,291 |
| - Density | 192/km² (1999) |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 66049/ 66400 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| 2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
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Céret (Catalan: Ceret) is a town and commune of the Pyrénées-Orientales département. It is the capital of Vallespir historical Catalan comarca.
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[edit] Geography
The town lies in the foothills of the Pyrénées mountains, in southeastern France. It has an altitude of 175-1400 meters. It is located 7 km from the Autoroute A9, 200 km from Montpellier, 250 km from Toulouse and 180 km from Barcelona. It lies on the river Tech. The GR 10 footpath runs close by.
[edit] Main Sites
Céret is famous for its Museum of Modern Art (Musée d'Art Moderne) which has numerous Picasso paintings, sculptures and ceramics, including the famous bull fighting bowl series. The museum also features paintings by Chagall, Matisse, Herbin, Soutine, lots of Fauves and a few Impressionists. The museum is open 364 days of the year.
The Pont du Diable (Devil's Bridge) is a single arch stone bridge built between 1321 and 1341. With a single span of 45.45 m, it was at the time of its construction the world's largest arch bridge in terms of span length.
[edit] Culture
[edit] Cherries
The region around Céret is major fruit producer, in particular famed for its cherries. The first of the season's pick are, by local tradition, sent to France's President. Céret hosts a cherry festival each year with such oddities as cherry beer and a cherry stone spitting competition. The cherry season is during the end of April and May. At this time, the town is at its most picturesque.
[edit] Bulls
Céret also holds an annual bull running festival known as la feria where young bulls (usually with their horns blunted) are run through the streets corralled by a group of highly skilled Camargue horsemen and women. Young bloods, fired up on cheap local wine and wearing traditional red and yellow Catalan outfits, chase from behind in an attempt to catch hold of the bull's tail and hold on for as long as they can. Many bruises result although mostly it has to be said, to the ego. The feria is always held the weekend nearest to the 14th July, Bastille Day.
[edit] Dances
Céret regularly holds communal dances, where local amateurs or professionals dance in a ring. The dance is known as the sardanes. No pre-arrangement is made on the dancers behalf, locals note the time and place on posters around the city and turn up as they wish. More formal arrangements are also made on other occasions.
[edit] Market
Céret's Saturday market is a high point of the week and is as much a social event as anything else. It is a bustling, busy market mostly selling local fruit, veg, cheese and wines. Much frequented by the large local English, Dutch, German and Scandinavian population that have moved to the Céret region in the last ten to fifteen years.
[edit] Artists
Céret has a continued tradition of being a home for artists, especially painters and poets. The Café Pablo in the town is dedicated to Picasso and The Grand Café, still operating today, was a meeting place for many famous artists in the early part of the last century.
- Pablo Picasso (1911, 1912)
- Georges Braque (1911, 1912)
- Georges Badin (1986 - )
[edit] Gallery
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[edit] External links
