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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. The term vilar refers to a hamlet dependent on the main village, located here in the Albères. A first written mention dates from 16 May 1089, when Na Adalaiza and his son Arnau gave up a mas to the church, then attached to the august prioress of Sainte-Marie de Lladó. The present Romanesque building was rebuilt in the early twelfth century and consecrated in 1142 by the bishop of Elne Udalgar I of Castelnou.

The church, oriented to the east, presents a Latin cross plan with a single vaulted nave in a broken cradle, an absidiole transept and a semicircular apse. The Romanesque frescoes of the abside, classified in 1955, represent a false curtain, apostles under arcades and a mandorle surrounded by the symbols of the Evangelists. The site, originally occupied by a Roman temple of the 1st century BC, became an Augustine monastery whose provost also exercised seigneury over the hamlet. The French Revolution abolished its income, leading to its sale in 1802.

In the 20th century, the priory fell into ruins: its cloister was dismantled in 1924 by an antique storehouse, and the church was described as invaded by vegetation in 1942. Saved by a partial ranking in 1983, the site was bought in 1993 by Lucette Triadou, who launched its restoration with volunteers and recovered the cloister moved to the Paris region. Since 2005, a Romanian Orthodox monarchic community has continued its spiritual vocation there, while hosting the Lyric and Medieval Vilar Festival since 1994.

The venue also pays tribute to Captain Paul Berge, a native of Perpignan and member of the Berthelot mission to Romania during the First World War. A commemorative plaque, inaugurated in November 2023, recalls his role in the resistance against the central Empires, where he confronts a young Erwin Rommel, future Desert Fox.

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