Ansignan

Ansignan ( Occitan: Ansinhan ) is a southern French village with 196 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2011 ) in the department of Pyrénées- Orientales in the Languedoc- Roussillon region.

Location

Ansignan is located in a valley in the geographic center of the nordkatalonischen Fenouillèdes, about 43 km ( driving distance ) to the west of Perpignan. The capital of the canton of Saint -Paul -de- Fenouillet located about nine kilometers north.

The municipal area the Desix empties into the aglycon.

Demographics

Economy

In the wooded area of the Fenouillèdes to a small extent agriculture and forestry as well as wine production. The wines are used for personal use or are marketed through the Appellation Côtes du Roussillon. In addition, the traveling and holiday tourism and rental cottages ( gîtes ) plays an important role in the economic life of the village.

History

The present town Ansignan was certainly not the end point of the Roman aqueduct, because findings were hardly in the vicinity made ​​from Roman times. By the year 870 the Fenouillèdes still belonged to the historic county of Razès, after which it came into the possession of the Counts of Cerdanya. In the 11th century it belonged to the Abbey of Saint -Michel -de- Cuxa. The first mention Ansignans dates from the year 1012 (villa ansiniano ); at that time there was already a small - today a little off of the place standing - church. From the 15th century to the French Revolution, the place belonged to the basic rule of the Vivier family.

Attractions

• The remains of a dolmen from the time of megalithic ( Dolmen de la Rouyre ) can be found about 500 meters west of the village; two kilometers to the west are the remains of two other dolmens. One to two kilometers south of Ansignan, north of the village Trilla, there are two other prehistoric stone tombs.

• The most significant attraction of Ansignan is the Roman aqueduct, which is about 500 meters north of the town the small river Agly crosses, but this can not swell enormously after a strong thunder rain or after days of long lasting continuous rain and briefly reach a width of 20 to 30 meters. For this reason, but mainly for the sake of saving material the Romans about 170 meters long water line put in the 3rd century to a variety of support arches - in total there are 29 The low arch height of maximum 12 meters, made ​​horizontal cross-connections - as to the known Roman aqueducts ( Pont du Gard, Segovia, Mérida, and others) occur - superfluous. Traces of medieval restorations show that the aqueduct to the 13-14. Century was used. Even today, sometimes accumulates water in the sealed and covered by travertine formerly of stone slabs, but today open channel. To this date, no ancient town in the area that could supply the water line; maybe this place should first be built, but this was omitted in the late antique period of crisis.
• The church ( Oratory Notre -Dame) of Ansignan dates from the 10th/11th. Century.
• The new church of Saint- Nazaire was probably built in the 18th century. In the nave inside contains a simple baptismal font from the 12th century, a beautiful stucco pulpit in the Renaissance style with the representations of the four evangelists (probably from the disbanded during the revolution years Abbey Church of Saint -Paul -de- Fenouillet derived ) from as well as several statues of saints made ​​of plaster the 19th century.