Elne, from the heights of its fortified site, dominates the narrow plain of
Roussillon between the Pyrenees and the
Mediterranean. Numerous archeological researches have shown that the surrounding countryside has been occupied since
Neolithic times. Elne was an
Iberian oppidum or fortified town. Elne is the oldest town in
Roussillon and since it is situated on the way towards the
Iberian Peninsula, successive civilisations have left their traces. The first mention of the settlement, under the name of
Illiberis, occurs in the history of
Livy (xxi.24). It was the
Iberian city at which
Hannibal pitched camp having crossed the Pyrenees in 218 BCE, where he negotiated with the assembled Gaulish chiefs his safe passage through their territories on the way to Italy. In the first century CE, however, it was no more than "a modest vestige of a hitherto great city" (
Pliny). In the fourth century, Illiberis was renamed "Castrum Helenae" after
Helena, the mother of
Constantine, whence its modern name was derived by degrees. In 350 A.D., this was the location of the assassination of
Constans, a son of Constantine. With the division of southern Gaul in 462, Elne became one of the "seven cities" of
Septimania. Its Catholic bishopric was established in the 6th century. The first known bishop of Elne, Dominus, was mentioned in 571 in the Chronicle of
John of Biclarum. The bishop of Elne attended the
Council of Toledo in 599. Numerous synods were held by the bishops of Elne: That of 1027 in
Toulouges upheld the
Peace and Truce of God, that no one should attack his enemy from Saturday at nine o'clock to Monday at one. Further synods were held in 1058, 1114, 1335, 1337, 1338, 1339, 1340, and 1380. When the Arabs crossed the
Pyrenees in 719 Elne was one of the first towns to be attacked, and when the counts of Roussillon achieved independence,
Perpignan became the capital of the county, with Elne remaining the
Episcopal city. The high altar of the present
cathedral of Sainte-Eulalie-et-Sainte-Julie was consecrated in 1069. Its
Romanesque cloister was built in the 12th to 14th centuries. In 1285, under the Aragonese domination, during the
Aragonese Crusade instigated by
Pope Martin IV, the town was plundered, the cathedral set on fire and the people, who had taken refuge inside, massacred by the French troops of
Philip III. During the later Middle Ages, Elne was increasingly overshadowed by the growing prosperity of nearby
Perpignan; the counts of Roussillon moved their seat from Elne to Perpignan, and after vicissitudes lasting two centuries the episcopal seat was finally transferred to Perpignan also, in 1601 by a Bull of
Pope Clement VIII. In 1472 the inhabitants of Elne revolted against French rule. The town, yet again besieged, was conquered and its captain, Bernat d'Oms, beheaded (1474). In 1493 Elne, along with all
Roussillon, was returned to the
Crown of Aragon. In 1641 Elne suffered another siege by the French and after the
Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659), became French. The medieval ramparts were partly destroyed in 1680 on
Louis XIV's orders. Since then Elne has become an agricultural town which, in spite of repeated destructions caused by its several invaders, remains a witness to its past glories, attracting some 70,000 visitors annually. In the twentieth century a sculptor and a painter have left their imprint:
Aristide Maillol and
Etienne Terrus, to whom a local museum is dedicated. "Pomone" by Maillol serves as the World War II war memorial, and the studio of Terrus, where
Henri Matisse and
André Derain were received, saw the birth of the
Fauve movement. Currently the city is extending towards the north, in a carefully planned urbanization— "Las Trillas"— extending over 40 hectares, which takes advantage of picturesque views of the cathedral. A pedestrian boulevard through the city, on the model of
Barcelona's successful "Las Ramblas", is under way, as well as a new square,
Place Jordi incorporating the ramparts of the upper city. Elne cloister1.JPG|The north bell-tower of the cathedral Elne fortification.jpg|City wall Elne gate.JPG|The "
Perpignan Gate" leads towards Perpignan Elne porte(2).jpg|Porte de Balagué, former gate to the upper town Elne Place de la République.jpg|Place de la République Elne upper town.jpg|Upper town "Illiberis" ==Demography==