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{{Infobox French commune
|name               = Elne
|commune status     = [[Communes of France|Commune]]
|image              = Cloitre d'Elne - galerie nord.jpg
|caption            = Cloister of Elne
|image coat of arms = Blason Elne.svg
|arrondissement     = Céret
|canton             = La Plaine d'Illibéris
|INSEE              = 66065
|postal code        = 66200
|mayor              = Nicolas Garcia<ref>{{cite web|title=Répertoire national des élus: les maires|url=https://www.data.gouv.fr/fr/datasets/r/2876a346-d50c-4911-934e-19ee07b0e503|publisher=data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises|date=13 September 2022|language=fr}}</ref>
|term               = 2020&ndash;2026
|intercommunality   = CC des Albères, de la Côte Vermeille et de l'Illibéris
|coordinates        = {{coord|42.5997|02.971|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|elevation m        = 23
|elevation min m    = 0
|elevation max m    = 65
|area km2           = 21.29
|population         = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_total}}
|population date    = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_as_of}}
|population footnotes   = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_footnotes}}
}}

'''Elne''' ({{IPA|fr|ɛln|-|LL-Q150 (fra)-Fabricio Cardenas (Culex)-Elne.wav}}; {{langx|ca|Elna}} {{IPA|ca|ˈɛlnə|}}) is a [[Communes of France|commune]] in the [[Pyrénées-Orientales]] [[Departments of France|department]] in southern [[France]].<ref>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/metadonnees/geographie/commune/66065-elne INSEE commune file]</ref>

It lies in the former [[province of France|province]] of [[Roussillon]], of which it was the first capital, being later replaced by [[Perpignan]]. Its inhabitants are still called ''Illibériens'' in reference to the city's [[Iberians|Iberian]] name, Illiberis, one that it shared with the Illiberis that became [[Granada|Granada, Spain]].

==Geography==
Elne is located in the [[canton of La Plaine d'Illibéris]] and in the [[arrondissement of Perpignan]]. It is situated {{convert|4|km|mi|abbr=on}} from the [[Mediterranean]] near the [[Tech River]], in [[Pyrénées-Orientales]], {{convert|12|km|mi|abbr=on}} from [[Perpignan]] and {{convert|7|km|mi|abbr=on}} from [[Argelès-sur-Mer|Argelès]].

[[File:Map commune FR insee code 66065.png|thumb|center|300px|Map of Elne and its surrounding communes]]

==History==

Elne, from the heights of its fortified site, dominates the narrow plain of [[Roussillon]] between the Pyrenees and the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]]. Numerous archeological researches have shown that the surrounding countryside has been occupied since [[Neolithic]] times. Elne was an [[Iberians|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).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.romansonline.com/Src_Frame.asp?DocID=Hor_Lv21_24 |title=Who was Who in Roman Times :History of Rome (Ab Urbe Condita) by Livy |publisher=Romansonline.com |access-date=2013-03-26}}</ref> It was the [[Iberians|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 the Younger|Pliny]]).

In the fourth century, Illiberis was renamed "Castrum Helenae" after [[Helena (empress)|Helena]], the mother of [[Constantine I (emperor)|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 [[Bishop|Episcopal]] city.

The high altar of the present [[Elne Cathedral|cathedral of Sainte-Eulalie-et-Sainte-Julie]] was consecrated in 1069. Its [[Romanesque architecture|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 of France|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 [[Aragonese empire|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 of France|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 (collective)|Fauve]] movement.

Currently the city is extending towards the north, in a carefully planned urbanization&mdash; "Las Trillas"&mdash; 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.
<gallery>
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"
</gallery>

==Demography==

{{Historical populations
| align = none
| cols = 1
| percentages = pagr
| source = INSEE<ref name=pophist>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4515315?geo=COM-66065#ancre-POP_T1 Population en historique depuis 1968], INSEE</ref>
| graph-pos = right
|1968 | 5892
|1975 | 6017
|1982 | 6177
|1990 | 6262
|1999 | 6410
|2007 | 7452
|2012 | 8275
|2017 | 8941
}}

==See also==
*[[Communes of the Pyrénées-Orientales department]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons-inline}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140517045645/http://www.elne.fr/ Elne.fr Elne (official site)]; (in French)
* [http://www.ville-elne.com/ Elne, ville d'Arts (official site):] (in French)
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11700b.htm ''Catholic Dictionary'':] "Diocese of Perpignan"
{{adjacent communities
|Northwest = [[Corneilla-del-Vercol]],<br />[[Montescot]]
|North = [[Alénya]]
|Northeast = [[Latour-Bas-Elne]],<br/>[[Saint-Cyprien, Pyrénées-Orientales|Saint-Cyprien]]
|West = [[Bages, Pyrénées-Orientales|Bages]]
|Center = Elne
|East = ''[[Mediterranean Sea]]''
|Southwest = [[Ortaffa]]
|South = [[Palau-del-Vidre]]
|Southeast = [[Argelès-sur-Mer]]
}}
{{Pyrénées-Orientales communes}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Communes of Pyrénées-Orientales]]
[[Category:Medieval cities]]