The municipality of Peyrestortes has about 1350 inhabitants. Located in the northwest of the agglomeration of Perpignan, the municipal territory is bordered by large infrastructures such as the A9 / E15, the railway, to Spain, the future TGV line and the international airport of Perpignan. Rivesaltes. Peyrestortes however remains a rural village, nestled in the heart of the vineyards. Land of forced wine, Peyrestortes offers a real quality of life. Marked by a mild Mediterranean climate, a landscape punctuated by the view of the Canigou and a historic center characteristic of Catalan agricultural villages, the town has many assets: shops, schools, retirement homes, sports complex, cultural center and unspoiled countryside. Two rivers with torrential regimes run through the communal territory: the Avents ravine, which runs along the north of the village from west to east; the ravine of Oums, which crosses the center of the commune from the South to the North. The town is a member of the Urban Community Perpignan Mediterranean Metropolis.
The municipality of Peyrestortes has a rich history. Traces of a Neolithic settlement (2500 BC) are present in the surrounding countryside. The remains discovered on the site "Las Sedes" attest to the Roman presence. Located on the royal road 117 connecting Perpignan to Foix, Peyrestortes is located at the junction of the tracks from Narbonne to join the valleys of Agly and Tet.
On the current site of the castle, existed a pre-Romanesque chapel of the ninth century. In the eleventh century, writings demonstrate the presence of the lords of Peyrestortes. After the acquisition of the castle by the municipality in 2000, was discovered a parchment of the fifteenth century on goatskin and written in the pen in ancient Latin.
Restored in 2004, the church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Previously, it was dedicated to Saint John the Evangelist, Patron Saint of the village.
The coat of arms of Peyrestortes: Dating from 1279, it represents two bulls on a gold background and two greyhounds Mallorca gold color on a black background with the tongue hanging, arranged on a shield divided into four.
Battle of Peyrestortes - September 17, 1793: On the heights of the airport, the motorist finds at the intersection of the road of Baixas the monument commemorating the battle of Peyrestortes of 1793 which put an end to the Spanish invasion of the French Catalonia. This column was inaugurated in 1898. The generals of Aoust and Goguet, assisted by the conventional Cassanyes and volunteers of Perpignan, obtained a brilliant victory which marked the beginning of the reconquest of Cerdagne, Conflent and Roussillon.
Albert Lavigne, a prominent figure: Albert Lavigne, born in Peyrestortes in 1837, was the subject of a book "Albert Lavigne, wine merchant, poet and communard" (La Bruyère ed.). Journalist, he created "Le Cep Roussillonnais" in 1864, not hesitating to caricature in his newspaper "Echo of Roussillon". A few years later, he is found as an officer at the Battle of Champigny. Sentenced to deportation to New Caledonia where he remained from 1867 to 1880, he then made a political career with avant-garde ideas. He died in 1888 in Algeria.
