Mérens-les-Vals

Mérens -les -Vals is a small municipality with 185 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2011 ) in the department of Ariège in the southern French region of Midi -Pyrenees.

Location

Mérens -les -Vals located in the Pyrenees, at an altitude of over 1,000 meters, at the junction of three river valleys (Ariège, Nabre and Morgoulliou ), about nine kilometers ( route ) to the south of Ax -les -Thermes. Up to Andorra la Vella, is about 49 km to the southwest.

The town also has a railway station.

History

Traces of early human occupation were not found in Merens so far. It is therefore considered that the place was first used in Gallo-Roman only as summer pasture for the cattle, and has only gradually developing it into a permanent settlement.

In the 10th century the village was first mentioned; at that time he was probably subordinate to the abbey of Sainte -Marie de Lagrasse. Later it belonged to the county of Cerdanya, in the 12th and 13th centuries to the county of Foix.

Demographics

In 1390 64 hearths were counted, suggesting a population of about 400 to 500 people. In the mid-19th century, the city had about 800 inhabitants.

Economy

Mérens -les -Vals lives mainly from agriculture (milk and cheese production ). But the rental cottages ( gîtes ) plays an important role in the economy of the small community.

Attractions

• The Église Saint- Pierre was before it was destroyed by Spanish partisan groups ( miquelets ) during the Napoleonic Wars, one of the few authentic Pyrenean churches on the French side. In Andorra ( Pal, Canillo ) and especially in Catalonia belonging to Vall de Boi (Sant Climent de Taüll and Santa Maria de Taüll ) is perhaps the finest surviving examples of this type of building found. Characteristic feature of these churches is a three - or four-storey flank tower whose windows or sound holes are getting bigger upward, to save material contributes to a, on the other hand the structure gives a certain visual lightness. We call this tower form sometimes called ' Lombard ', since there are similar examples are in northern Italy ( Pomposa and others). Unlike the Catalan examples the church of Mérens -les -Vals was only one nave; its apse was partially built into the mountain. The church is expected to be around the year 1100 or shortly thereafter to date; the stones are relatively precisely trimmed and placed in the masonry association in uniform layers over each other. The upper twin windows of the tower are slightly recessed by a nearly square framing, which could indicate knowledge of Moorish architecture ( alfiz ). The tower terminates in a circumferential arch frieze.
• In the town itself is still a single-arched late medieval stone bridge over the Ariège.