Ur, Pyrénées-Orientales

For the Biblical city, see Ur.

Ur (French: [yʁ] ^ⓘ; Catalan: Ur, [ur]) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.

Ur
Commune
The church of Saint-Martin, in Ur
Coat of arms
Location of Ur
Ur Show map of France Ur Show map of Occitanie
Coordinates: 42°27′46″N 1°56′18″E
Country	France
Region	Occitania
Department	Pyrénées-Orientales
Arrondissement	Prades
Canton	Les Pyrénées catalanes
Intercommunality	Pyrénées Cerdagne
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Francis Gantou[1]
Area 1	6.79 km2 (2.62 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	366
• Density	54/km2 (140/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	66218 /66760
Elevation	1,155–1,540 m (3,789–5,052 ft) (avg. 1,250 m or 4,100 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Toponymy

The name of the village is attested in the form Hur as early as 839 AD, and is of pre-Indo-European origin, coming from the Ur-Or-Ar root - quite common in the Pyrenees - which designates a place where there is a spring or a river; the pre-Celtic root *Ur- still means "water" in Basque. Despite local folklore, there is no known relation to the city-state of Ur which is mentioned in the Bible.

Geography

Ur is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement of Prades. Ur-Les Escaldes station has rail connections to Villefranche-de-Conflent and Latour-de-Carol.

Map of Ur and its surrounding communes

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	256	—
1975	272	+0.87%
1982	260	−0.64%
1990	269	+0.43%
1999	308	+1.52%
2007	332	+0.94%
2012	353	+1.23%
2017	363	+0.56%
Source: INSEE[3]

See also

• Communes of the Pyrénées-Orientales department