Rivesaltes
Rivesaltes (Catalan: Ribesaltes ) is a common French, located in the department of the the Eastern Pyrenees and the area Languedoc-Roussillon. Its inhabitants is called Rivesaltais. The city gave its name to two sweet aperitif wines of appellation contr4ol3ee: the Rivesaltes and the Muscatel of Rivesaltes.
The name of the commune in Catalan is Ribesaltes which means “high banks”.
Geography
Located in the northern Suburbs of Perpignan (Perpinyà) on the Agly (as a Catalan, Agli)
History
The camp of Rivesaltes
The Camp of Rivesaltes was, before and during the Second world war, a concentration camp for the Spanish republican combatants and the foreigners (1938-1942), then for the Jews (August-October 1942). It became, after the war, a military prison camp (1945-1948), then a military camp (1948-1962) and finally a refugee camp Harki S of North Africa (1962-1972).
Caption of Babau
Rivesaltais were to remember it a long time… It was in the night from February 2nd to 3rd 1290, one night without the spangled moon but. It froze with stone to split, all was calm in the deadened small town. The time was peaceful in Roussillon under the reign of the peaceful King Jaume II of Majorque. The population rested with the shelter of the ramparts whose doors had been closed as usual. Since months already, it there did not have any more watchers with the turns, only Fardoli Sereno, specific, traversed with slow step the narrow streets, restricting its singing voice to announce the hour and time. There were fifteen minutes well that at the other end of the borough one had intended it to proclaim " its mow very I sereno" , when suddenly, the neighbors of the furnace were awaked by a great noise, a dreadful noise of stones projected with force as if a house had collapsed. In three houses even, one had the impression of an earthquake. Soon there be some cries of choked children, the tears and a great raucous howl, then, again, a stone din which rolls, and sudden silence, a deathly hush. And at this point in time the district could measure the extent of the disaster. On the whole six children had disappeared, from the whole small, the babies and the clamors of the poor éplorés parents completed to awake the vicinity. The alarm bell was sounded and soon, any Rivesaltes was on the spot. Somebody, something, an enormous animal of not to doubt, had entered the " Forat Del Forn" increasing the hole with the passage, had in their sleep, snatch of their cradle or their small bed the poor innocent preys of which it owed repaître once returned in its cave… Consternation, desolation were read on all the faces. The priest senior returned to later the procession of the Saint Blaise who was to proceed on February 3rd just and announced for the following day a ceremony of prayers to the memory of the innocent victims of the unknown plague. Two nights still the animal prevails and the fear was with its roof. Batlle decided to restore at once the watchers on the seven lathes defending the city. All the guards were provided with lances, crossbows, and had full provisions of arrows, stones and of ebullient oil. The animal returned. Imagine initially a large boiling of water going up upstream on usually calm water of Agly, then a noise of trampling on the bank with as a crash of cascade of to all the water which the monster raised while leaving the river and which turned over to its bed. All were unanimous to estimate its length around 80 at 100 pams of the head to the tail; According to their description, the general pace connected it with the prehistoric iguana, but with a much more famous person. With enormous, brilliant and démoniaques round eyes like those of a cat, a jaw powerful, teeth frightening, a long blow, a thick body finished by curved fingers and mobiles decorated with impressive claws, the whole covered with dreadful and hard scales on which the arrows of the watchers rebounded as on rock. With the batlle which required the description of the animal of him that he had seen, one of the watchers of the tower nearest to the hole and which was become stammerer of fright could only articulate " Vavau" (Babau delivery) i.e., it has… it has… The word made fortune and, since, the monster was called Babau. It is the lord of the Strawberries and Périllos, Galdric Trencavent which was to draw from business Rivesaltais. It was a strong beautiful man, of high stature, strongly muscular, intrepid hunter, terror of wild boars of the vicinity; it had moreover a pretty talent of principal rafter. He proposed, to kill Babau. The batlle accepted with joy and during a memorable meeting in which Galdric took part, two consuls and the advisers, one establishes a meticulous plan. Dice the following night, it was put at execution. The " Forat Del Forn" was released from its stones and a young pig attached to forty pams of the hole like soft food. The fourth night, the boiling of water drew the attention of the watchers. Galdric, alerted, was placed at good range of the pourceau and valiantly, waited. Noise on the strike, a powerful friction against the walls, and sudden the head of the appeared monster spouting out hole violently. It is at the time when Babau was thrown on the pourceau that Galdric, prompt like the flash, stripped an arrow to him which penetrated in the open mouth of the monster. It therefore was not killed but of the close tower the watchers transfer it to agitate the head with anger in all directions to try to get rid of the feature which meurtrissait its throat. Some time from there, Rivesaltais learned that a kind of wounded monster had gone to be failed close to Ortolanes or he had died of exhaustion. A delegation was sent, under the control of the batlle. There was valorous Galdric of course, and best placed watchers, those which could best recognize the adversary of the nights of terror. They was formal, it was well Babau, which had ended up succumbing to the wounds inflicted by its enemies. So that all the inhabitants have a memory of the monster which had so much made them suffer, the delegation brought back three coasts of Babau. One was exposed to the church Sainte-Marie, another with the vault Saint-Andrew and the third constituted the trophy which the grateful population offered to Galdric Trencavent during a memorable festival which Te Deum begin with a solemn sung in Sainte-Marie church. One made a procession of thanksgivings, then one danced and made feast, Babau had finally died.Only one of the three coasts of Babau of Rivesaltes east arrived to us, which is already quite extraordinary after so many centuries of vicissitudes. It is currently exposed to the office of animation and of Tourism of Rivesaltes and the visitors can admire it and evaluate thus, imposing dimensions of Babau.
Administration
Demography