Espira-in-the Agly

Espira-with-the Agly is a common French, located in the department of the the Eastern Pyrenees and the area Languedoc-Roussillon. Its inhabitants is called Espiranencs.

The name of the commune in Catalan is Espirà of Agli .

Geography

Located on the Agly

History

Administration

Demography

Places and monuments

Even if the name of the village is late in the texts, the occupation of its territory is attested as of prehistoric times by excavations carried out on Right Bank of Agly (presence of a Mesolithic habitat). But in fact the vestiges of the period Roman or Gallo-Roman are most numerous, in particular to the farmhouse Mirs and the farmhouse Méric, in the west of the commune, not far from a bridge ruined on Agly that some claim of Roman origin.

All the old story of Espira is related to that of its priory. In 1086, Berenguer-Isarn, lord of Peyrestortes, fact gift of the church of Espira and her territory to the monks of Cuixà, to undoubtedly build there a priory, but twelve years later, its widow makes the same gift in favor of the abbey of Arles-on-Tech. That will undoubtedly involve a lawsuit, which Cuixà will leave victorious. New change about 1130: this time it is the church of Elne and its Udalgar bishop which take possession of the places and transform into 1136 the church as a priory of canons augustins (Cuixà will be compensated and will receive in exchange the church of Ria). In the years which follow, the priory does not cease thriving and receives many goods in Roussillon and Cerdagne. In XIVe century, undoubtedly because of the insecurity reigning at the border with France, the canons decide to give up Espira to come to settle in Perpignan: the priory is then attached to the community of Réal. There was to be at that time well few inhabitants with Espira, from where the drafting, in 1389, of a charter known as of població offering many advantages to several household heads come from the close villages. In compensation, the latter begin to reinforce and maintain the fortifications.

The abbey of Réal will be secularized in 1592, year which undoubtedly marks also the end of the priory of Espira, transformed into collegial depending on the abbey of Elne. In the middle of the XIXe century, the bishop sells a good portion of this collegial to a private individual, so that this one establishes there a convent cistercian dedicated to ND of the Angels (1852). The cistercians give up the places in 1904, replaced shortly after by Marist brothers who transform the old priory into private school. One will specify that the priory had a cloister, of which majority of the elements one disappeared (some are in Toledo, in the United States).

Enough very few, the population rose with approximately 400 inhabitants at the XVIIIe century. It develops as from the XIXe century, exceeding the threshold of the 1000 inhabitants about 1840. Thereafter, the population did not cease growing, if one excludes a rather significant fall between the two wars. This rise is related to that of the vine, but also, since a few tens of years, with the construction of allotments. One largely exceeded the threshold of the 2000 inhabitants to the census of 1990, and the progression continued thereafter (2625 inhabitants in 1999).

Personalities related to the commune

See too

Common of the Eastern Pyrenees

Stage

External bonds

Espira-in-the Agly on the site of the national geographical Institute
Espira-in-the Agly on the site of INSEE
Espira-in-the Agly on the site of Quid
Localization of Espira-in-the Agly on a chart of France and communes bordering
Plane on Espira-in-the Agly on Mapquest

Random links: