First Templar Presence 1190 (≈ 1190)
Purchase of arnau mas by the Templars.
1264
Templar Commander certified
Templar Commander certified 1264 (≈ 1264)
Mention of an official in Orla.
1271
Total acquisition by Templars
Total acquisition by Templars 1271 (≈ 1271)
Orla becomes the property of Mas Deu.
1324
Transition to Hospitallers
Transition to Hospitallers 1324 (≈ 1324)
Becoming command of Saint John of Jerusalem.
1792
End of Command Office
End of Command Office 1792 (≈ 1792)
Disappearance with the French Revolution.
10 décembre 2021
Registration for historical monuments
Registration for historical monuments 10 décembre 2021 (≈ 2021)
Partial protection of the archaeological site.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
The archaeological site of Saint-Etienne d-Orle with the plated land, the ground and basement of the plots, and the chapel in whole, excluding the buildings of the farmhouse, as delimited in red on the plan annexed to the decree, located avenue Julien-Pancot, on the section HY plots 64, 329, 1101, 1103, 1662, 1663: inscription by decree of 10 December 2021
Key figures
Commandeur templier (anonyme) - Head of the domus Templi
Mentioned in Orla from 1264.
Ordre du Temple - Initial owner
Acquiert Orla in 1271.
Hospitaliers de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem - Successors of the Templars
Managed the site from 1324 to 1792.
Origin and history
The archaeological site of Saint-Étienne d'Orle, located in Perpignan on Avenue Julien Panchot, is an ancient medieval place now integrated within the perimeter of the Saint Charles market. It includes a Romanesque chapel dedicated to Saint-Étienne, an surrounding cemetery and traces of a village developed around the year thousand, gradually deserted from the fourteenth century. Recent excavations have revealed a discontinuous occupation since Neolithic, but its medieval role marks its historical identity.
Orla was a lordship acquired by the Templars in 1271, after a first presence attested in 1190 with the purchase of the mas d'Arnau. A Templar Commander is mentioned there from 1264 onwards. After the dissolution of the Order of the Temple in 1312, the site passed to the Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem in 1324, becoming a principal commandery including the houses of Bompas and Collioure. This occupation lasted until the French Revolution (1792), deeply marking local history.
The church, now in poor condition and surrounded by modern buildings, was partially listed as historical monuments on December 10, 2021. The archaeological site comprises the entire chapel (excluding buildings of the adjacent wine-growing mas), as well as the soil and basement of the parcels concerned. Archaeological research has documented its evolution, from its high medieval origin to its progressive abandonment, reflecting the social and religious transformations of the region.
Architecturally, the site illustrates the transition between the late Romanesque and medieval periods, with a church characteristic of the Templar and Hospital buildings of Languedoc-Roussillon. His term at Saint-Étienne, patron saint of primitive churches, suggests an ancient foundation, perhaps linked to a pilgrimage route or to a seigneurial centre. The remains of the medieval village offer a rare testimony of the spatial and community organization around a place of worship in this border region between Catalonia and Occitanie.
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