Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

Saint-Jean de Saint-Jean-Pla-de-Corts church, located in the Pyrénées-Orientales, shares its name with the commune. Its origin dates back to at least the tenth century, as the first mentions in the form of S. Johannes de Plano de Corts show. This name, evolving over the centuries (S. Johannis de Palatio, Sent Johan de Plan de Corts), reflects the linguistic and political history of the region, marked by the transition between Catalan and French after the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659).

The Pla de Corts toponym is a terrace overlooking the Tech Valley, near a place called Corts (enclosures or sheepfolds in Catalan), attesting to an ancient pastoral activity. The construction of a chapel dedicated to Saint John the Baptist in the 10th century, accompanied by a small castle, gives rise to the village of Sant Joan de Pla de Corts. The name evolves temporarily in Sant Joan de Pagès in the 16th century, under the influence of the Pagès de Copons seigneurial family, before returning to its original form after their emigration during the French Revolution.

The church, partly Romanesque, is part of a landscape marked by cultural and linguistic exchanges between Catalonia and France. Its toponymic architecture and history illustrate the political and social transformations of the region, from the Middle Ages to the modern period. The variations in his name — Sant Joan de Pladecorts in Catalan today — bear witness to this historical wealth, linked to the breeding, the local seigneury and the changes in sovereignty.

External links