Our Blog - Collioure, France

The city of Collioure has a very long history ...the castle was already documented in 673, proof of the strategic and commercial role held by the city in the Visigoth era. Control switched several times, from the Visigoths to the counts of Roussillon, then the kings of Aragon, then the kings of Majorca. After the marriage of Ferdinand V of Aragon and Isabella, it came under control of the Spanish monarchy. Then back to France under Louis XI, then back to Spain, again under Ferdinand V.

The city is known as the birthplace of Fauvism. In 1905, Henri Matisse came to paint in Collioure and, along with André Derain, created the artistic style of Fauvism. Fauvism gets its name from the french term for "the wild beasts", les Fauves. The paintings in this style expressed emotion with wild, often dissonant colors, without regard for the subject's natural colors. It didn't last long, from 1905 until 1908 and only had 3 exhibitions. There is a map with a "path of Fauvism" which has pictures of various works of art painted in Collioure in "roughly" the place that the easels were placed. Sometimes, due to the growth of the city and additional buildings, you can't really see what the artist saw at that spot.

We spent 2 nights here, so we were able to grab a sunrise picture over the little inlet.

The Royal Castle, "Le Château Royal", sits right on the water's edge and is well-located in the middle of the town and is one of the highlights of the city. It sits atop a 30-meter-high rocky outcrop, which is now completely covered by the building. It is a combination of 4 different castles, starting with the castle of the Knights Templar, built around 1207. In the 16th century, under Charles V and his son Philip II, the château was turned into a modern fortress. In the 17th century, Vauban demolished part of the town buildings to further strengthen the ramparts and constructed the glacis (artificial slope used to strengthen the walls). We didn't go inside but walked around it multiple times.

The medieval parish church was torn down in 1673 so that Vauban could build the sloping banks of the castle. Vauban no longer wanted a port in Collioure, opting instead for the deep-water bay of Port-Vendres just South. As a result, a lighthouse was no longer necessary and the king donated the old lighthouse for a new church. This was turned into the bell tower which was not covered until 1809 when the Tuscan-style dome was added. Construction was finished in 1691, and it is a Southern Gothic-style church, with a single nave and side chapels between the buttresses.

The interior was very clean, and you can see the huge altarpiece (I'll have more details later) as well as the side chapels that are placed between the buttresses.

The first of the side chapels that I took pictures of, the chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, with an altarpiece made in 1902 and previously dedicated to the Immaculate Conception.

This chapel houses the altarpiece of Saint Eloi, made in 1716. In the center are Saint Eloi and Saint François Xavier, on the left side are Saint Eulalie (above, in a medallion) and Saint Antony of Padua, and on the right are Saint Julie (above, in a medallion) and Saint Antoine l'Ermite.

The altarpiece of the Saint-Vincent chapel was made in 1714 and has statues of Saint Vincent de Collioure (center), Pierre Cerdan (left), and Saint Eladie (right). The bas-reliefs above the statues illustrate the martyrdom of the saint. Below the statues are the busts of Saint Vincent de Collioure, Saint Maxime, and Saint Libérate. The reliquary contains the relics of Saint Vincent de Collioure, brought back from Rome in 1700.

I think this is the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, with a carved wooden altarpiece dating to 1700. There are different scenes from the Eucharist, as well different meals of the Bible. On the sides are statues representing Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

Now the altarpiece of the high altar, created by Joseph Sunyer between 1698 and 1702. It has the form of a large, three-story triptych occupying the entire rear choir. In the center are the Virgin of the Assumption and at the top the Eternal Father between Justice and Charity. Across the first level are a statue of the Virgin, the first row of the apostles and the two carved paintings representing the Adoration of the Shepherds and the Adoration of the Magi. The second level contains another row of apostles in the second row and additional paintings.

The Chapel of Saint Vincent is one of the best known in the region even though it is probably the tiniest! It is a simple, rectangular room with an arched door. A large wooden cross on the left, with Christ facing the sea. It is located on a former island where, according to legend, Saint Vincent suffered martyrdom in 303. The chapel was built in 1701 for the arrival of new relics of the saint.

The old quarter is made up of narrow pedestrian-only streets (too narrow for cars) and brightly-colored houses.

This is an interesting view of the bay from up on a hill that we walked on with the puppy. We also got a closer view of Fort Saint-Elme on the hill above.

Dinner one of the nights was at a restaurant that is right on the water, across the bay from the old city and castle. The interesting thing about the restaurant is that it has what probably is an open terrace during the summer, that is totally enclosed in glass during the winter (with heaters). You can see a little bit of the glare in the windows (like the little glass lights on the tables), but you can see the lights of the city on the other side of the water. I thought it looked pretty cool.