среда, 5 декабря 2018 г.

Port Leucate

Mediterranean resorts of France (amethyst coast): Port Leucate – the cheapest oysters in France and the center of European land windsurfing
Leucate (fr. Leucate) – a commune in France, which belongs to the region Languedoc-Roussillon. Department of the Commune – Aude. Included in the canton Les Corbières Méditerranée. District of the commune – the city of Narbonne. The population of Leucate in 2017 was 3,954 people.
This seaside resort is located on the coastal strip separating Leucate pond from the golfe du Lion Bay, in the immediate vicinity of the marine Corbières (les Corbières maritimes), which are located in the east and differ from the rest of the Corbières by having a mild climate and plenty of thermal Mediterranean vegetation.
The port of Leucate can be reached via the D83 south of Barcares (Barcarès) or via the D627 from the village of Leucate (Leucate) to the north.
The creation of the port of Leucate is the result of the development of the coastal region of Languedoc-Roussillon. The chief architect of the city is Georges Candilis. The port is part of the tourist site of Lacattes-le Barcares (or Port Leucate-Port Barcarès), built as part of the Racine1 mission.
France’s interministerial mission for the development of tourism on the coast of Languedoc-Roussillon, also known as the Racine mission, is in honor of Pierre Racine, its leader. The mission was established on June 18, 1963 by the state to carry out major infrastructural work to develop the Mediterranean coast in the departments of Gard, l’Hérault, l’Aude and Pyrénées-Orientales — in other words, along the amethyst coast (côte d’Améthyste).
The mission involved the development of the city and its transformation. Lawns, lighted fountains, palm trees, walking and cycling paths appeared.
Port Leucate is the old part of the resort area, which began to attract tourists even before the First World War at the beginning of the 20th century.
The port itself is located south of Corrège Island on the northern border of Port Barcares. Island Korrezh or the island of birds – covers about 150 hectares of land. It is connected to the land by two bridges on the D627 – in one direction the road leads to the water park, and in the other to the city of Leucate.
In the port of Leucate, 1100 boats can fit in the water and 350 boats on the parking spaces on land. Useful information: the price to park boats ranges from 750 to 6,000 euros per year (depending on the size of the boat).
Tourism is the main activity of the port of Leucate, with more than 60,000 people visiting per year. The types of accommodation offered are mainly campgrounds, hotels and apartments. Part of the resort (5 of 45 hectares) is the nudist village of l’Île de La Corrège. It was created in 1974, as part of the same Racine1 mission. The village has its own pier.
Right on the Mediterranean coast is the resort area of the Rives des Corbières hotel, which is located 150 meters from the beach of Leucate.
Shopping, cuisine and restaurants:
One of the attractions that you must visit is the shellfish port. It is located south of Leucate-Plage and north of the nudist village. Here you can come across the oyster farmers who grow oysters, mussels, clams and even king prawns. On this land, nature has arranged itself so that the most favorable conditions for the growth of oysters were created: a narrow strip of the beach separates the Mediterranean Sea from the freshwater lake. It is this composition of water – a combination of fresh and sea water – that affect the quality of oyster meat.
However, on this farm, oysters do not multiply, they are brought here when small from Kankal. In any case, the prices for oysters here at the local farm are among the lowest in France.

Замки Испании: Кастельвель в Сольсоне, Каталония, Пиренеи

Замки Испании: Кастельвель в Сольсоне, Каталония, Пиренеи
Кастельвель (Castellvell de Solsona) – это замок, который находится на вершине одноименного холма высотой 838 метров в муниципалитете Олиус (Olius ) в районе Сольсонес, в трех километрах от города Сольсоны (провинция Лерида, Каталония).
Здание относится к 11 веку . Это одно из важнейших военных укреплений и сторожевая башня на северо-западе города Сольсона. Этот памятник архитектуры объявлен культурным объектом национального значения Каталонии.
Строительство замка началось по приказу графа Суньера Уржельского (Sunyer d’Urgell) в 957 году. В 973 году граф Боррелл II (Borrell II) Барселонский укрепил его как военную цитадель для обеспечения обороны района. В 11 веке лорд Сольсоны Экард Миро (Ecard Miró) продолжил работы по укреплению замка. Окончание строительство завершили уже после его смерти потомки Бернат и Рамон де Тарроха (Bernat i Ramon de Tarroja) в 1217 году. Окончание строительства состоялось, когда наследница семьи Тарроха, Агнесса, вышла замуж за виконта Кардонского, Рамона Фолка IV Кардонского (Ramon Folc IV de Cardona) (1180-23 августа 1241 года).
С романского периода в составе комплекса сохранились остатки церкви , трехапсидной и обращенной на запад, что соответствует приходской церкви Сальсоны Сан-Микель-де-Кастельвелл (Sant Miquel de Castellvell).
В замке есть также образец романской часовни, но в XV веке часовня была перестроена в в готическом стиле.

пятница, 30 ноября 2018 г.

Серна – символ Пиренеев: разновидности, повадки и особенности

Серна – изящное грациозное животное, которое является символом Пиренеев
В природе различают несколько видов серн, которые очень похожи между собой. Поэтому все они называются рупикарпа (rupicapra) или в переводе с латинского “каменная коза” (“chèvre des rochers”). Это род серны азиатского происхождения. Появилась она от 250 000 до 400 000 лет назад. Однако в зависимости от среды обитания серны имеют отличия в строении, цвете, анатомии и поведении. Во Франции живут три вида рупикарпы:  альпийская серна (rupicapra rupicapra), картузианская серна (rupicapra cartusiana) и пиренейская серна (rupicapra pyrenaïca).
Серна – млекопитающее, парнокопытное, семейство капринов (лат. сaprinae).
Серны – самые маленькие представители капринов. Их отличительная особенность – два крючковатых рога, которые не позволяют их путать с другими животными.
И самки, и самцы сохраняют эти рога в течение всего периода существования.
Серны линяют два раза в год: осенью (август-сентябрь) и весной (апрель-май).
Продолжительность жизни серны – около 25 лет, что обычно не свойственно для животных такого небольшого размера.
Альпийская серна:
Высота в холке взрослой особи – от 75 до 80 см.  От морды до хвоста животное может достигать 135 см. Вес самца – от 35 до 50 кг, самки – от 25 до 38 кг. Цвет шерсти и зимой, и летом почти одинаковый: бежево-серый или желтовато-серый с коричневыми или буровато-серыми вкраплениями.
Пиренейская серна:
Высота в холке взрослой особи – от 70 до 75 см. От морды до хвоста животное может достигать 110 см. Вес самца – от 25 до 40 кг, самки – от 20 кг до 32 кг. Цвет шерсти летом – красновато-бежевый или цвет охры, окрас равномерный. Цвет шерсти зимой намного ярче, чем летом. Бока, нижние бедра и конечности темно-коричневые, шея, задняя часть и верхние бедра серовато-бежевые. Хвост и спина – черные, живот – белый. На шее также различается характерная черная полоска, которая напоминает шарф.
Картузианская серна:
Более крупные особи с рогами большого диаметра. Цвет шерсти зимой – чёрный, на голове более светлые пятна.
Старение серны сопровождается уменьшением её размера. Это происходит уже с четвёртого года жизни животного. Через десять лет в окраске шерсти появляется больше серого (седого) цвета. Летняя шерсть постепенно становится светло-серой, а зимняя – темно-серой или серовато-коричневой. Полосы исчезают.

четверг, 29 ноября 2018 г.

Languedoc and Occitania: their history and major tourist attractions

Languedoc and Occitania: their history and major tourist attractions
Languedoc (French version – Languedoc, Occitan version – Lengadòc) is the so-called “historical” region in the south of France. The population of this region traditionally did not speak French, but Occitan. Languedoc is part of Occitania, the center of which, in turn, is the city of Toulouse. The population of Languedoc currently stands at 3.6 million.
The name Languedoc began to be used from the XIII century when, in 1271, the county of Toulouse fell under the French crown’s possession.
Until 1790, Languedoc had the official status of a province. Currently there are two regions on its territory – Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées (departments Aude, Tarn, Herault, Gard, Ardèche, Lozère, Haute-Garonne, Tarn and Garonne, Haute-Loire) . Languedoc occupies an area of about 42.7 thousand square meters, however, there are disagreements regarding the exact borders of the former province.
Today, Languedoc is one of the centers of tourism. It attracts tourists for its mountain peaks, green hills, ancient castles, vineyards and blue lagoons. About 800 years ago, this area was called the land of the Cathars, against which the Vatican declared a crusade. After all, the religious movement of the Cathars was the only opponent of the Catholic Church in Europe at that time.
The history of Languedoc and Occitania
The peculiarities of Languedoc include the fact that its inhabitants managed to preserve their language. In 1539, French became the official language in France. As a result, in all regions of the kingdom, local dialects began to die off. Only the people of Languedoc were able to save their language. Nowadays, about 8 million people speak Occitan. Well, tourists may notice that in Toulouse street names are written in French and Occitan. Therefore, Languedoc is often called the “other” France. After all, the locals consider themselves to be Languedoc, not French.
In these regions, a fairly powerful county of Toulouse existed in the past, which controlled all trade routes in the south of France. The highest flowering of the county fell on the XII century. Interestingly, the inhabitants of the county enjoyed great freedom. In addition, there were many free cities. The capital of the county was a city of Toulouse.
The locals quickly accepted the Cathar religion, which did not frighten them with prospects of going to hell. In addition, the Cathars did not recognize indulgences. They also treated people for free. Therefore, against the background of the heavily wealthy Catholic priests, they looked righteous.
The massive transition of locals to the Cathar religion led to the fact that in 1209 a crusade against Toulouse county was declared. It should be noted that the county repelled the attacks of the Crusaders for as long as 20 years. But in 1229, France seized part of the lands of the county. And in 1271 all the lands of the county were annexed to France. As a result, the county became the French province of Languedoc.
Former Occitania has an original intellectual climate, due to the proximity of Arabic Spain and the movement of the Cathars (Albigensians). It was here that troubadours were born and real knights lived. The Cathars (they are Albigensians) appeared at the beginning of the XI century. They believed that the materialism that conquered the Catholic Church should not flourish. They preached abstinence and asceticism, and were the forerunners of Protestantism. Then, in the XVI-XVII centuries, the Huguenots appeared not somewhere, but again here, in the kingdom of Navarre. In both cases, the heresies enjoyed the support of local authorities, and so Paris and the Vatican reacted harshly.
At the beginning of the XIII century, the Albigensians declared a crusade, conducted with all possible cruelty. Of course, it was not their ideology that was the cause, but the desire to profit from the wealth of the southern lands. The south was well fed, the yard prosperous, and the Albigensians were just an excuse as was the case for King Philip II. Pope Innocent III tried to negotiate with the Cathars, and was sent there as the main negotiator of those times – the Spaniard Guzman. But he could not do anything as Toulouse just laughed at him. Earl Raymond refused to take any measures against the Cathars, as he himself was almost a catarrh. Languedoc just did not want to talk to the Vatican. In 1208, the papal legate was killed in Toulouse, and this caused a crusade.
During the heyday of the county, almost all French musicians and poets lived here. After all, the French kingdom in those years experienced severe economic difficulties. Therefore, in the XII century, Toulouse became the intellectual and creative center of Europe. It regularly held poetry tournaments.
The army of Simon de Montfort passed through Occitania with fire and sword. The war lasted for more than thirty years, and the Cathars eventually fell. An indicative moment is that after the defeat of the Cathars in the middle of the 13th century, the surviving heretics moved into the Templar Order, which, in turn, was also defeated by the French king at the beginning of the 14th century. Isolated communities of the Cathars continued to exist for almost 100 years, but they lost their influence. The last known Qatar to the world was burned in 1321. The Huguenot movement also relied on the south.
In the XVI-XVIII centuries, many communes lived here independently and following their own laws. But they failed to resist the power of the absolutism of Louis XIV. This was the second global subordination of the south to the north and the final formation of a united France. Occitania remained only in the legends. Now Occitania under the name of the region of the South – the Pyrenees and Languedoc-Roussillon – is developing quite dynamically, relying on high-tech production. In many of its corners, however, typical medieval coziness and ecological cleanliness have been preserved.
Tourism in the Languedoc and what to see
This is a region of intellectual and rather individual tourism. It is recommended for people who love rustic tranquility, visiting castles and walking in the mountains.

Montesquieu Castle

Montesquiu (cat. Montesquiu) is a municipality in Osona, in Catalonia, Spain. It is located on the banks of the river Ter in the north of the region. The municipality is located on the main route (C17-N260) between Barcelona and Puigcerda.
The main tourist attraction of the municipality is the 13th century Montesquieu castle. It is open to the public, and in the summer many cultural events are held there.
Montesquieu Castle first appeared in documents dating back to 1285, when it was part of a defensive triangle that included the medieval castles of Besor and Saderra.
The transformation from the defensive complex to the Montesquieu castle took place in the 14th century when the regional governor moved here from Besora.
Over the next few centuries, the castle underwent several structural changes. Its owners have expanded the living space. They also added a small chapel set aside for Saint Barbara.
The Provincial Council of Barcelona acquired the castle in 1976.
Today the castle is the central element of the park that bears its name. In the park around the castle are two pedestrian routes: three and eight-kilometers long.
Montesquieu Castle is an amazing and beautiful place. It creates an impression of solitude, retreat, and sometimes loneliness.
The gothic staircase, due to the glass ceilings above and large windows, is the brightest place in the castle. The penetrating rays of the sun add warmth and comfort to the interior of this seemingly harsh stone structure. Darkness cannot rule here until the sun shines.