Perpignan

If you arrive in Perpignan by train, you should know that, according to Salvador Dali, you have reached the centre of the world, even the universe. In 1963 he proclaimed the Perpignan station to be the “Centre of the Universe” after experiencing a “cosmogonic ecstasy”. Two years later he finished the painting “La Gare de Perpignan”. Let’s remember that we are in the Catalan region, to be found on both sides of the French / Spanish border and very close to Figueras, where Dali was born, died and is buried (see my post here).

Perpignan is the capital of the “Pyrénées-Orientales” department. The city, being so close to what now is the French / Spanish border, has of course changed hands several times. It is “French”, since the end of the 17^th century.  It was once – 13^th and 14^th centuries – the continental capital of the Kingdom of Majorca, which included the Balearic Islands, the (later) French part of Catalonia... On the top of the city, you can still find the fortified Palace of the Kings of Majorca, which of course also has changed hands a number of times and added a number of defensive features, including those of Vauban during the 17^th century.

The city was surrounded by defensive walls which were razed in the beginning of the 20^th century. What remains is the “Castillet” from the 14^th century, later a prison. The attached gate, “Portal de Nostra Dona del Pont” was added during the 15^th century.

An interesting building to visit is the late 19^th century “Hôtel Pams”, originally built for Pierre Bardou,  a member of the cigarette rolling paper manufacturing family Bardou. The company, known as “JOB”  had a workshop here. Alphonse Mucha made several advertising posters for the company. The company still exists, but has changed owners – and premises – several times.

Pierre Bardou was father-in-law of Jules Pams (1852-1930), a prominent French politician, who transformed the building to what it (more or less) looks like today.   

The Perpignan cathedral, "Cathedral Basilica of Saint John the Baptist", was built during the 14^th and 15^th centuries in what is referred to as Catalan Gothic style. The clock tower, typical for the region, was finished later, during the 18^th century.  The interior is very rich, golden… The organ has origins from the early 16^th century.

The attached 14^th century “Campo Santo” looks like a cloister, but is actually a cemetery.

There are a number of other beautiful churches in Perpignan. Some of them tend to be used for exhibitions today. In one of them we can see how, after the Revolution, the original religious painting was replaced by a “Minerve”, still there. I suppose this is a trace of what was tried for a short time; to replace the catholic religion by a deistic religion blended by the “culte decadaire”.  

Among some open spaces and central buildings, we can find the 14^th century “Loge de Mer”…

… the 19^th century department store “Aux Dames de France” (now a Fnac shop), a statue of François Arago (known foremost as an astronomer - I have posted about him - born near Perpignan), the River Basse…