Sournia
Sournia (Sornian in the Occitan language) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in the Occitanie region of south-western France. Its inhabitants are known as Sourniannais.
Sournia Sornian | |
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![]() A general view of Sournia | |
![]() Coat of arms | |
Location of Sournia ![]() | |
![]() ![]() Sournia ![]() ![]() Sournia | |
Coordinates: 42°43′43″N 2°26′34″E | |
Country | France |
Region | Occitanie |
Department | Pyrénées-Orientales |
Arrondissement | Prades |
Canton | La Vallée de l'Agly |
Government | |
• Mayor (2001–2008) | Paul Blanc |
Area 1 | 29.99 km2 (11.58 sq mi) |
Population (2017-01-01)[1] | 498 |
• Density | 17/km2 (43/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
INSEE/Postal code | 66198 /66730 |
Elevation | 380–1,234 m (1,247–4,049 ft) (avg. 500 m or 1,600 ft) |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. |
Geography
Sournia is a town of the Fenouillèdes, the languedocienne part of the Pyrénées-Orientales, in the canton of La Vallée de l'Agly and in the arrondissement of Prades. The river Désix runs through the village. Sournia is 22 km from Ille-sur-Têt and from Vinça, 24 km from Prades and from Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet, 30 km from Latour-de-France and 34 km from Axat.
The commune is covered by the quality wine standard AOC 'Côtes-du-Roussillon'.
Sournia is crossed by the long distance footpath, GR 36.

Administration
The current mayor of Sournia is Paul Blanc, a senator, of the centre-right and right wing party UMP founded by Jacques Chirac.
Population
The population of Sournia in 2013 was 501 people.
Graph of population change 1794-1999

For some reason at the end of the 19th century, the population of Sournia seemed to have a reputation for having one of the longest longevity in France, even though this fact was not clearly verified.[2]
Places of interest
- Ruins of the former church of Saint-Michel from the tenth century.
- The ancient church of Sainte-Félicité from the tenth and eleventh centuries.
- Church of Arsa from the twelfth century.
References
- "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
- (in French) Fabricio Cardenas, Vieux papiers des Pyrénées-Orientales, Record de longévité à Sournia en 1897 , 3 January 2015
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