Sorède

Sorède
Commune
A general view of the village of Sorède
Coat of arms
Sorède
Location within Occitanie region  Sorède
Coordinates: 42°31′53″N 2°57′27″E / 42.5314°N 2.9575°E / 42.5314; 2.9575Coordinates: 42°31′53″N 2°57′27″E / 42.5314°N 2.9575°E / 42.5314; 2.9575
Country	France
Region	Occitanie
Department	Pyrénées-Orientales
Arrondissement	Céret
Canton	Vallespir-Albères
Intercommunality	Albères
Government
• Mayor (2001–2008)	Yves Porteix
Area1	34.54 km2 (13.34 sq mi)
Population (2006)2	2,962
• Density	86/km2 (220/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
INSEE/Postal code	66196 /66690
Elevation	42–1,241 m (138–4,072 ft) (avg. 80 m or 260 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.

Sorède (Catalan: Sureda, that is cork oak wood) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.

Geography

Sorède is located in the canton of Vallespir-Albères and in the arrondissement of Céret.

Map of Sorède and its surrounding communes

Government and politics

Mayors

Population

1962: 1138

1968: 1164

1975: 1491

1982: 1896

1990: 2160

1999: 2699

2006: 2962

Population 1962-2008

Sites of interest

• The main church "St Assiscle et Ste Victoire", 14th century choir, 17th century Baroque sculptures.
• Notre-Dame du Château, an 18th-century sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin Mary in the mountains, and the ruins of the castle of Ultrera, dating from the early Middle Ages.
• Saint Martin de Lavail, a 9th-century Romanesque chapel.
• Since the 13th century, whips have been made from the local celtis tree. Celtis whips are still made by hand today in Sorède and visitors can tour the workshop where they are made.

Notable people

• Father Antonio Gomes, known as « Padre Himalaya », a Portuguese scientist and priest who experimented with one of the first solar ovens in Sorède in 1900.
• Philippe David Clarke - was one of the early winners of the Euro Millions Lottery in February 2004. Clarke won an estimated 19,000,000 Euros. He has lived between Sorède and Kent, UK for most of his life.

See also

• Puig Neulós
• Communes of the Pyrénées-Orientales department

References

• INSEE commune file

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