Sorède

Sorède (French pronunciation: [sɔʁɛd] ^ⓘ; Catalan: Sureda, that is cork oak wood) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.^[3]

Sorède
Commune
A general view of the village of Sorède
Coat of arms
Location of Sorède
Sorède Show map of France Sorède Show map of Occitanie
Coordinates: 42°31′53″N 2°57′27″E
Country	France
Region	Occitania
Department	Pyrénées-Orientales
Arrondissement	Céret
Canton	Vallespir-Albères
Intercommunality	CC des Albères, de la Côte Vermeille et de l'Illibéris
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Yves Porteix[1]
Area 1	34.54 km2 (13.34 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	3,500
• Density	100/km2 (260/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	66196 /66690
Elevation	42–1,241 m (138–4,072 ft) (avg. 80 m or 260 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

Sorède is located in the canton of Vallespir-Albères and in the arrondissement of Céret.

Map of Sorède and its surrounding communes

Government and politics

Mayors

List of mayors

Period	Name	Party	Profession
1966–1989	André Cavaillé
1989–incumbent	Yves Porteix	UDF/MoDem	Mayor & Vice-president of the Community of Communes

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	1,164	—
1975	1,491	+3.60%
1982	1,896	+3.49%
1990	2,160	+1.64%
1999	2,699	+2.51%
2007	2,970	+1.20%
2012	3,083	+0.75%
2017	3,267	+1.17%
Source: INSEE[4]

Sites of interest

• The main church "St Assiscle et Ste Victoire", 14th century choir, 17th century Baroque sculptures.
• Notre-Dame du Château, an 18th-century sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin Mary in the mountains, and the ruins of the castle of Ultrera, dating from the early Middle Ages.
• Saint Martin de Lavail, a 9th-century Romanesque chapel.
• Since the 13th century, whips have been made from the local celtis tree. Celtis whips are still made by hand today in Sorède and visitors can tour the workshop where they are made.

Notable people

• Father Antonio Gomes, known as « Padre Himalaya », a Portuguese scientist and priest who experimented with one of the first solar ovens in Sorède in 1900.
• Philippe David Clarke - was one of the early winners of the Euro Millions Lottery in February 2004. Clarke won an estimated 19,000,000 Euros. He has lived between Sorède and Kent, UK for most of his life.

See also

• Puig Neulós
• Communes of the Pyrénées-Orientales department