Col de Banyuls
Col de Banyuls
The Col de Banyuls is a mountain pass in the foothills of the Eastern Pyrenees that is also an historic border crossing between France and Spain. The ascent is difficult, but the shortest route to the pass is from the village Banyuls-sur-Mer, a small seaport on the Mediterranean in southern France. The pass today is a challenging, but popular hiking and biking route that offers a vast panoramic view of the two countries.
This passage between the two countries is cited as historic crossing point for many millennium. More than two thousand years ago historic records claim that the great Carthaginian commander, Hannibal led his army and elephant entourage over the pass in his historic march to Rome.
For centuries the route was an illegal trade route for local Banyuls fishermen to smuggle goods in and out of Roussillon. In 1793, Spanish troops attempted to invade the region of Roussillon and faced a strong resistance from Banyul’s Catalan residents at the border pass. The Col of Banyuls was also an escape route during the 1930s and 1940s in both directions. During the Spanish Civil war in 1936, refugees and exiles fled the tyranny of dictator Francisco Franco into France.
During WWII, sculptor Aristide Maillol and Dina Vierny, assisted refugees who came to Banyuls during the German occupation to escape. Twentieth century philosopher Walter Benjamin, a fierce critic of Nazism also fled to Banyuls-sur-Mer to escape through the famed mountain pass. Lisa and Hans Fitko, two escapees from German concentration camps, helped Benjamin and other refugees over the Col de Banyuls to Spain. Unfortunately when Benjamin later reached Port Bou, he learned that the Spanish government had cancelled all transit visas and planned to deport all refugees back to France. In despair, he took his own life.
