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Villelongue |
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Villelongue
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| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Midi-Pyrénées |
| Department | Hautes-Pyrénées |
| Arrondissement | Argelès-Gazost |
| Canton | Argelès-Gazost |
| Intercommunality | Vallée d'Argelès-Gazost |
| Mayor | Jean-Paul Boudet (2008–2014) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 457–2,484 m (1,499–8,150 ft) (avg. 500 m/1,600 ft) |
| Land area1 | 20.46 km2 (7.90 sq mi) |
| Population2 | 372 (2006) |
| - Density | 18 /km2 (47 /sq mi) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 65473/ 65260 |
| 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. | |
Villelongue is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France.
Villelongue is situated on the flank of the Hautacam mountain, around a stream called the Ruisseau d'Isaby, and descends to the Gave de Gavarnie torrent.
It consists of a main village with a smaller hamlet above called Ortiac. Ortiac boasts a charming medieval chapel. The woods above Ortiac conceal the Abbey of Saint-Orens, now in ruins.
Villelongue has considerably expanded in recent years, as new tracts are open to development and as the road infrastructure have developed to allow inhabitants to commute to Lourdes and Tarbes.
Villelongue is unusual among local towns in having a latinate name, rather than a name deriving from Bigourdan (the local dialect of the Occitan language). The name is said to derive from of a Latin villa (i.e. a large farm) dating from late antiquity, situated in the lower part of the modern village, in an area known as "Las Longas".