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Origin and history

The Priory of Notre-Dame-du-Vilar, located in Villelongue-dels-Monts in the Pyrénées-Orientales, has its origins in the 11th century under the name of Sancta Marie de Vilari. This vilar (farm or isolated hamlet) depended on Villelongue, located at the foot of the Albères. The site, occupied from ancient times as evidenced by the discovery of a Roman temple of the first century BC during excavations in 1998, became a Christian place of worship mentioned for the first time in 1089. On that date, Na Adalaiza and his son Arnau gave a mas to the Augustinian Priory of St. Mary of Lladó, provided that his income returned to the Church of St. Mary of Vilar.

The present Romanesque chapel was built in the early 12th century and consecrated in 1142 by the bishop of Elne Udalgar I of Castelnou. It adopts a Latin cross plan, with a unique vaulted nave in a broken cradle, an absidiole transept and a semicircular apse decorated with Romanesque frescoes. The monastery, led by regular canons of St Augustine, flourished until the French Revolution, which abolished its feudal income. In 1802, the last prior, Pierre Barraca, sold the site, marking the beginning of a long decline: abandonment, partial dismantling (the cloister was transported to the Paris region in 1924), and progressive degradation.

Ranked a Historic Monument in 1955 (frescoes) and then in 1983 (chapel and ruins), the chapel was saved in 1993 by Lucette Triadou, who launched an ambitious restoration. The cloister, bought and repatriated, is reconstituted in situ, despite the disappearance of two capitals. Since 2005, the priory has been home to a Romanian Orthodox monarchical community, perpetuating its spiritual vocation. The site also hosts a lyrical and medieval festival since 1994, and has paid tribute since 2023 to Captain Paul Berge, hero of the First World War in Romania.

The architecture of the chapel reflects its turbulent history: cradle vaults, cul-de-four apses, and 12th century frescoes representing a false curtain, apostles and a mandorla surrounded by the symbols of the Evangelists. The funerary inscriptions on the façade and the arch bellet with full hanger recall its medieval past. Today, the priory combines Romanesque heritage, orthodox monastic life and cultural influence, while preserving the traces of its transformations, from Augustine canons to Romanian monks.

The site is also marked by unexpected historical links, such as that uniting Captain Paul Berge — native of Perpignan — with Romania, where he fought in 1917. A commemorative plaque recalls his confrontation with a young German officer, Erwin Rommel, future Desert Fox, wounded for the first time in this episode. This detail illustrates how this modest place in the Pyrénées-Orientales indirectly met with major European destiny.

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