I added a link for the River Têt← Previous revisionRevision as of 01:09, 20 October 2026 Line 46: Line 46: The town's access to the [[French Cerdagne]] region makes it an important strategic location. It was already occupied by [[Celtic tribes]], then by [[Roman people|Romans]], [[Visigoths]], [[Moors]], and finally the [[Catalans]]{{Cite journal |last=Martinez |first=Catherine |title=“Le peuplement du Roussillon, du Conflent et du Vallespir aux IXe et Xe siècles" (The Populating of Roussillon, Conflent, and Vallespir in the 9th and 10th Centuries) |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/anami_0003-4398_1975_num_87_122_1595 |journal=Annales du Midi |volume=87 |issue=122 |pages=139–156 |via=Persée}} by the time fortifications were built by the [[County of Conflent|counts of Conflent]] at the end of the 9th century.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fzp3MWRNPFAC&pg=PA224 |pages=223–25 |title=Vauban and the French Military Under Louis XIV: An Illustrated History of Fortifications and Strategies |first=Jean-Denis G.G. |last=Lepage |publisher=McFarland |year=2009 |isbn=9780786456987}} On April 9, 1090 or 1091, (depending on the source,) Guillem Ramon, then Count of Cerdanya, and vassal of the kingdom of [[Aragon]]{{Cite web |title=Villefranche-de-Conflent {{!}} Network of Vauban's major sites |url=https://sites-vauban.org/en/node/7830 |access-date=2026-10-19 |website=sites-vauban.org}}, founded the city of Villefranche-de-Conflent{{Cite web |title=Vila de Vilafranca de Conflent {{!}} enciclopedia.cat |url=https://www.enciclopedia.cat/catalunya-romanica/vila-de-vilafranca-de-conflent |access-date=2026-10-19 |website=www.enciclopedia.cat}} within the already-existing fortifications. Ramon's aim was to make the town the new capital of the Conflent territory. Furthermore, Ramon wanted to make it quite impossible for potential invaders to access the road to the high plateaux of Cerdanya.{{Cite web |title=Let’s Get on the Yellow Train |url=https://letrainjaune.fr/en/ |access-date=2026-10-19 |website=Let’s Get on the Yellow Train |language=en-US}} The town's access to the [[French Cerdagne]] region makes it an important strategic location. It was already occupied by [[Celtic tribes]], then by [[Roman people|Romans]], [[Visigoths]], [[Moors]], and finally the [[Catalans]]{{Cite journal |last=Martinez |first=Catherine |title=“Le peuplement du Roussillon, du Conflent et du Vallespir aux IXe et Xe siècles" (The Populating of Roussillon, Conflent, and Vallespir in the 9th and 10th Centuries) |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/anami_0003-4398_1975_num_87_122_1595 |journal=Annales du Midi |volume=87 |issue=122 |pages=139–156 |via=Persée}} by the time fortifications were built by the [[County of Conflent|counts of Conflent]] at the end of the 9th century.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fzp3MWRNPFAC&pg=PA224 |pages=223–25 |title=Vauban and the French Military Under Louis XIV: An Illustrated History of Fortifications and Strategies |first=Jean-Denis G.G. |last=Lepage |publisher=McFarland |year=2009 |isbn=9780786456987}} On April 9, 1090 or 1091, (depending on the source,) Guillem Ramon, then Count of Cerdanya, and vassal of the kingdom of [[Aragon]]{{Cite web |title=Villefranche-de-Conflent {{!}} Network of Vauban's major sites |url=https://sites-vauban.org/en/node/7830 |access-date=2026-10-19 |website=sites-vauban.org}}, founded the city of Villefranche-de-Conflent{{Cite web |title=Vila de Vilafranca de Conflent {{!}} enciclopedia.cat |url=https://www.enciclopedia.cat/catalunya-romanica/vila-de-vilafranca-de-conflent |access-date=2026-10-19 |website=www.enciclopedia.cat}} within the already-existing fortifications. Ramon's aim was to make the town the new capital of the Conflent territory. Furthermore, Ramon wanted to make it quite impossible for potential invaders to access the road to the high plateaux of Cerdanya.{{Cite web |title=Let’s Get on the Yellow Train |url=https://letrainjaune.fr/en/ |access-date=2026-10-19 |website=Let’s Get on the Yellow Train |language=en-US}} The first urban walls (not merely fortifications,) date back to the 12th century. These walls stood in the way of anyone wanting to pass through on the existing road, thus making passage of intruders difficult without a siege of the walled town{{Cite web |title=Villefranche-de-Conflent |url=https://www.francecomfort.com/en/sights/1104/villefranche-de-conflent |access-date=2026-10-19 |website=www.francecomfort.com |language=en}}. To ensure the success of the new city, Count Ramon guaranteed freedom from taxes for the first 3 years of new settlers' residence in the town, plus the establishment of a market, and a decree that there would be no competing markets anywhere else in Cerdanya, except in the town of Ix. Due to this freedom from the typical obligations of serfdom, Ramon named the town Vila de Vilafranca de Conflent which means "town of freedom in the Conflent region" in Catalan. The Conflent, from the Latin term "confluent," is the historical name for the watershed area that flows towards the River Tet.{{Cite web |title=Diccionari català-valencià-balear |url=https://dcvb.iec.cat/ |access-date=2026-10-19 |website=dcvb.iec.cat}} The first urban walls (not merely fortifications,) date back to the 12th century. These walls stood in the way of anyone wanting to pass through on the existing road, thus making passage of intruders difficult without a siege of the walled town{{Cite web |title=Villefranche-de-Conflent |url=https://www.francecomfort.com/en/sights/1104/villefranche-de-conflent |access-date=2026-10-19 |website=www.francecomfort.com |language=en}}. To ensure the success of the new city, Count Ramon guaranteed freedom from taxes for the first 3 years of new settlers' residence in the town, plus the establishment of a market, and a decree that there would be no competing markets anywhere else in Cerdanya, except in the town of Ix. Due to this freedom from the typical obligations of serfdom, Ramon named the town Vila de Vilafranca de Conflent which means "town of freedom in the Conflent region" in Catalan. The Conflent, from the Latin term "confluent," is the historical name for the watershed area that flows towards the [[Têt (river)|River Têt]].{{Cite web |title=Diccionari català-valencià-balear |url=https://dcvb.iec.cat/ |access-date=2026-10-19 |website=dcvb.iec.cat}} In 1374, Villefranche resisted the siege of [[James III of Majorca|Jaume III]] the son of last [[king of Majorca]]. In the mid-1400s, when it was a Spanish possession, ramparts were adapted by adding slits in the walls to allow for firearms. In July 1654, the French captured the city after nine days, and the troops of [[Louis XIV]] took [[Puigcerda]] from the Spaniards.{{Cite web |title=Sumisión de Cataluña. Guerra con Francia. De 1648 a 1659 |url=https://www.filosofia.org/his/laf/p304c14.htm |access-date=2026-10-19 |website=www.filosofia.org}} After capturing Villefranche-de-Conflent in 1654, the French demolished 300 metres of the medieval walls, and four of the town’s eight towers in 1655–1656, to make the village difficult for the Spanish to reclaim. Only the rampart along the Têt was spared. In 1374, Villefranche resisted the siege of [[James III of Majorca|Jaume III]] the son of last [[king of Majorca]]. In the mid-1400s, when it was a Spanish possession, ramparts were adapted by adding slits in the walls to allow for firearms. In July 1654, the French captured the city after nine days, and the troops of [[Louis XIV]] took [[Puigcerda]] from the Spaniards.{{Cite web |title=Sumisión de Cataluña. Guerra con Francia. De 1648 a 1659 |url=https://www.filosofia.org/his/laf/p304c14.htm |access-date=2026-10-19 |website=www.filosofia.org}} After capturing Villefranche-de-Conflent in 1654, the French demolished 300 metres of the medieval walls, and four of the town’s eight towers in 1655–1656, to make the village difficult for the Spanish to reclaim. Only the rampart along the Têt was spared.