Illier et Laramade

Municipality of Illier-et-Laramade

Altitude: 622m
Location: in the heart of the Vicdessos and Siguer valleys and a few kilometers from Tarascon-sur-Ariège.
Number of inhabitants: 23
Distances: Vicdessos 11 km-Tarascon-sur-Ariege 13 km

Formerly two separate Pyrenean villages, Illier and Lamarade which were quickly merged into a single commune, Illier-et-Laramade, forming part of the Sabarthès area. Illier is a hillside village of the type that was established before the year 1000. But it appears little in the medieval charters and perhaps it was not very important. There were only 12 tax households there at the end of the 14th century.
The church is dedicated to Saint Orens, a 5th century character, hermit then bishop of Auch, originally from Urgell. This dedication suggests an old church and is an additional indication of the antiquity of the village of Illier.

In this church was found a splendid Romanesque wooden statue representing a Madonna and Child, similar to another from the 12th century discovered in Andorra.

The village of Laramade is probably less old and does not have a church. At the end of the Middle Ages, the bridge of Laramade or not of Aris constituted the limit between the communities of the valley of Vicdessos and those of the valley of Siguer: many negotiations took place on this bridge.

In the 19th century, Laramade had an iron forge in which a new process developed in the middle of the 19th century was experimented with to increase productivity. Despite its improvements, the Laramade forge disappeared after 1870.

From 1911 to 1932, when the tramway ran from Tarascon to Auzat, Laramade was a station.

Opening hours of the town hall:
Monday: 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Thursday: 9 a.m.-11 a.m.

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