Port of Collioure
The commune of Collioure is a small seaside Catalan village in southern France on the Vermeil Coast of the Mediterranean, north of the Spanish border and the Pyrenees. Occupied since prehistoric times, early records show the Visigoths lived on this natural cove on the sea before 673 when King Wamba squashed a rebellion; He named the village “Caucoliberis” (Port of Elne,) and built early fortifications.
The Carolingian rulers during the Middle Ages saw Collioure’s importance as a commercial port and ordered the Counts of Roussillon to promote settlements and encourage trade. Pirates plundered coastlines at will, but the port village flourished during the 12th and 13th century when the Kings of Aragon and Majorca both enlarged the fortifications at Collioure. The castle at Collioure became the royal residence during summer for the Kings of Majorca, whose palace was at Perpignan.
During the crusades, the Knights of Templar developed many commercial enterprises in Collioure, which led to speculation that the treasures of the Templar order were hidden there. In the sixteenth century the Spanish Empire occupied Collioure, but the French later recaptured the town. During the reign of Louis XIV in the 17th century, his renowned military engineer Vaubon razed the old city to create a severe glacis, joined fort Miradour to the royal castle with rampart walls, and enclosed Collioure as a garrisoned town.
Collioure became a center of artistic activity in the early 20th century when Fauve artists, André Derain and Henri Matisse made it their home in 1905. Many artists flocked to the village before and after World War I inspired by the picturesque Royal Castle, medieval streets, the fortified church of Notre-Dame-des-Anges (1684), and the beauty of the Mediterranean bay. During WWII the Nazis built anti-tank concrete walls on the sandy Faubourg beach in Collioure. Today tourism drives the economy as locals thrive on Collioure’s colorful heritage.
Researched and written by Virginia Vanneman, Graduate Student in the Department of History, University of West Florida.
