Paulilles
Encyclopedia
Protected area
Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international...
on the Mediterranean Sea, located between the towns of Port-Vendres
Port-Vendres
Port-Vendres is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.A typical Mediterranean fishing port, situated near the Spanish border on the cote Vermeille in south west France, Port-Vendres is renowned for its numerous fish and sea food restaurants. You can watch the fishing...
, and Banyuls-sur-Mer
Banyuls-sur-Mer
Banyuls-sur-Mer is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.-Geography:Banyuls-sur-Mer is neighbored by Cerbère, Port-Vendres, Argelès-sur-Mer and Collioure. The region is known for its wines, such as the sweet wine Banyuls. An aquatic museum with aquarium is located in...
in Pyrénées-Orientales
Pyrénées-Orientales
Pyrénées-Orientales is a department of southern France adjacent to the northern Spanish frontier and the Mediterranean Sea. It also surrounds the tiny Spanish enclave of Llívia, and thus has two distinct borders with Spain.- History :...
, North Catalonia, France.
The Dynamite Factory
Paulilles Recreational Park occupies a rehabilitated dynamiteDynamite
Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
factory site protected as an ecological network
Ecological network
An ecological network is a representation of the biotic interactions in an ecosystem, in which species are connected by pairwise interactions . These interactions can be trophic or symbiotic...
by the Natura 2000
Natura 2000
Natura 2000 is an ecological network of protected areas in the territory of the European Union.-Origins:In May 1992, the governments of the European Communities adopted legislation designed to protect the most seriously threatened habitats and species across Europe. This legislation is called the...
european organisation. Originally serving as the French Nobel
Alfred Nobel
Alfred Bernhard Nobel was a Swedish chemist, engineer, innovator, and armaments manufacturer. He is the inventor of dynamite. Nobel also owned Bofors, which he had redirected from its previous role as primarily an iron and steel producer to a major manufacturer of cannon and other armaments...
Dynamite Factory, it was created by Nobel's associate in France, Paul François Barbe, and built in 1870.
Protecting the environment
In July 1991, the installations were closed, by the Société nationale des poudres et des explosifs (SNPE), and later sold to the Conservatoire du littoralConservatoire du littoral
The Conservatoire du littoral is a French public organisation created in 1975 to ensure the protection of outstanding natural areas on the coast, banks of lakes and stretches of water of 10 square kilometres or more...
in 1998 to protect the area from real estate developers.
In 2005, the General Council of the Pyrénées-Orientales
General Council of the Pyrénées-Orientales
The General Council of the Pyrénées-Orientales is the assembly elected for 6 years by the 31 Cantons of the Pyrénées-Orientales and its executive...
launched the renovation to ready 9 buildings, destroy nearly 70, and landscape 17 hectares to turn Paulilles into a free and ecological recreational park, a museum on the industrial heritage
Industrial heritage
Industrial heritage is an aspect of cultural heritage dealing specifically with the buildings and artifacts of industry which are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations, often forming a significant attraction for tourism.The...
of the factory and a traditional catalan boat repair facilityhttp://www.cg66.fr/environnement/espaces_naturels/paulilles/index.html.
Paulilles opens to the public in June 2008.
Geography
Port-Vendres
Port-Vendres is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.A typical Mediterranean fishing port, situated near the Spanish border on the cote Vermeille in south west France, Port-Vendres is renowned for its numerous fish and sea food restaurants. You can watch the fishing...
behind the Las Portas pass along the scenic Route Départementale 914
Route Départementale 914
The Route Départementale 914 or RD 914 is the scenic route by the Mediterranean sea, between Perpignan and Cerbere, at the Spanish border....
. It is a small scale Mediterranean bay, forming a prairie down to the sea between the Béar cape, and the Oullestrell cape and forms three beaches: Bernardi, del Mitg, Fourat separated by small cliffs in the bay.
The original forest has been well preserved and is typical of the Mediterranean region.
It is composed of Aleppo pine
Aleppo Pine
Pinus halepensis, commonly known as the Aleppo Pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. Their range extends from Morocco and Spain north to southern France, Italy and Croatia, and east to Greece and northern Tunisia, and Libya, with an outlying population in Syria, Lebanon, southern...
(Pinus halepensis), Maritime Pine
Maritime Pine
Pinus pinaster, the Maritime Pine, is a pine native to the western and southwestern Mediterranean region. The pejorative name 'pinaster' is derived from pinus + aster, translating as 'a poor imitation of a pine' Pinus pinaster, the Maritime Pine, is a pine native to the western and southwestern...
(Pinus pinaster), Stone Pine
Stone Pine
The Stone Pine , is also called Italian Stone Pine, or Umbrella Pine , and Parasol Pine. It is in the pine family Pinaceae and occasionally listed under the invalid name Pinus sativa. The tree is native to the Mediterranean region...
(Pinus pinea), for the Pinaceae
Pinaceae
Pinaceae are trees or shrubs, including many of the well-known conifers of commercial importance such as cedars, firs, hemlocks, larches, pines and spruces. The family is included in the order Pinales, formerly known as Coniferales. Pinaceae are supported as monophyletic by its protein-type sieve...
)family. Also Holm oak
Holm Oak
Quercus ilex, the Holm Oak or Holly Oak is a large evergreen oak native to the Mediterranean region. It takes its name from holm, an ancient name for holly...
(Quercus ilex), Cork Oak
Cork Oak
Quercus suber, commonly called the Cork Oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section Quercus sect. Cerris. It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring. It is native to southwest Europe and northwest Africa.It grows to up to 20 m,...
(Quercus suber) and Olive
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
trees (Olea europaea).
Local flora is well represented with the Armeria
Armeria
Armeria is the botanical name for a genus of flowering plants. These plants are sometimes known as "thrift" or as the "sea pinks" as they are often found on coastlines...
of Roussillon (Armeria ruscinonensis Girard), the polycarpon of Catalonia (Polycarpon polycarpoides), the Thymelaea
Thymelaea
Thymelaea is a genus of about 30 species of evergreen shrubs and herbs in the flowering plant family Thymelaeaceae, native to the Canary Islands, the Mediterranean region, north to central Europe, and east to central Asia.Species-References:**...
hirsuta, the Limonium tremolsii, and also Tamarix
Tamarix
The genus Tamarix is composed of about 50-60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa...
(Tamaricaceae
Tamaricaceae
Tamaricaceae is a flowering plant family containing four genera. In the 1980s, the family was classified in the Violales under the Cronquist system; more modern classifications place them in the Caryophyllales.The family is native to drier areas of Europe, Asia and Africa...
), and Gattiliers (Vitex agnus-castus).
All the waters around Paulilles are also protected by Natura 2000
Natura 2000
Natura 2000 is an ecological network of protected areas in the territory of the European Union.-Origins:In May 1992, the governments of the European Communities adopted legislation designed to protect the most seriously threatened habitats and species across Europe. This legislation is called the...
, for its Posidonia oceanica
Posidonia oceanica
Posidonia oceanica is a seagrass species that is endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. It forms large underwater meadows that are an important part of the ecosystem. The fruit is free floating and known in Italy as 'the olive of the sea'...
, a species of seagrass
Seagrass
Seagrasses are flowering plants from one of four plant families , all in the order Alismatales , which grow in marine, fully saline environments.-Ecology:...
that is endemic to the Mediterranean Sea and Coralline algae
Coralline algae
Coralline algae are red algae in the order Corallinales. They are characterized by a thallus that is hard because of calcareous deposits contained within the cell walls...
s that offers shelter and nursing home for the rich aquatic life.
This marine plants forms large underwater meadows of high importance to the environmental conservation of the region.
Recreational opportunities
- Biking
- HikingHikingHiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
- WalkingWalkingWalking is one of the main gaits of locomotion among legged animals, and is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults over the stiff limb or limbs with each step...
- Bird watching
- Swimming
- Scuba divingScuba divingScuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
See also
- Natura 2000Natura 2000Natura 2000 is an ecological network of protected areas in the territory of the European Union.-Origins:In May 1992, the governments of the European Communities adopted legislation designed to protect the most seriously threatened habitats and species across Europe. This legislation is called the...
- Côte VermeilleCôte VermeilleThe Côte Vermeille is a region in the French department of Pyrénées-Orientales, near the border with Spain. The Côte Vermeille stretches from Argelès-sur-Mer to the border village of Cerbère, quaint and relatively quiet seaside hideaway in the valley of Cervera...
- European Route of Industrial HeritageEuropean Route of Industrial HeritageThe European Route of Industrial Heritage is a network of the most important industrial heritage sites in Europe. The aim of the project is to create interest for the common European Heritage of the Industrialisation and its remains...
External links
- Website of the Conservatoire du littoral
- Presentation of the rehab project by the General Council of Pyrenees Orientales