Thuès-les-Bains
{{Short description|Hamlet and former spa in Nyer, Pyrénées-Orientales, France}}
Thuès-les-Bains is a hamlet located within the commune of Nyer, in the Pyrénées-Orientales department of southern France. A thermal spa was established there in the 19th century along the banks of the Têt River. Over time, the spa was repurposed into a functional rehabilitation center and later a specialized care facility.{{cite book |last=Bassède |first=Lluís |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8x0RQwAACAAJ |title=Toponymie historique de Catalunya Nord |publisher=Éditions Terra Nostra |year=1990 |isbn=978-2-402-12361-7 |page=115 |language=fr |trans-title=Historical Toponymy of Northern Catalonia}}
Hot springs in the vicinity have driven the development of thermal tourism in the area. Since the early 21st century, warm-water canyoning activities have been offered in the Faget stream, which flows into the Têt just upstream of the hamlet.{{cite web |title=Cascades d'eaux chaudes, canyon de Thuès, Faget |trans-title=Hot waterfalls, Thuès canyon, Faget |url=http://www.descente-canyon.com/canyoning/canyon/230/Eaux-Chaudes.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624073023/https://www.descente-canyon.com/canyoning/canyon/230/Eaux-Chaudes.html |archive-date=June 24, 2016 |access-date=6 February 2020 |website=descente-canyon.com |language=fr}}
Location and access
Thuès-les-Bains is administratively part of the commune of Nyer,{{cite web |title=IGN Map: Nyer |url=https://www.geoportail.gouv.fr/carte |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923032910/https://www.geoportail.gouv.fr/carte |archive-date=September 23, 2016 |access-date=6 February 2020 |website=Géoportail |language=fr |quote=Northern boundary of Nyer commune on IGN map; Nyer village is located at center-right; Thuès-les-Bains hamlet is on the left at the communal boundary; hot springs are noted nearby (scale 1:17,055, commune boundary outlined in yellow; zoom out as needed to view Nyer's full communal boundaries).}} approximately four kilometers by road from Nyer's village center and less than two kilometers from the neighboring upstream commune of Thuès-Entre-Valls.
The hamlet lies adjacent to the N116 road, connecting Bourg-Madame upstream to Perpignan downstream.
History
Situated near the historic hot springs of Eixalada, Thuès-les-Bains was originally part of the commune of En until it was merged into Nyer in 1822.{{cite book |last=Pélissier |first=Jean-Pierre |url=https://www.librairie-archeologique.com/index-a.html?produit=12738 |title=Paroisses et communes de France: Pyrénées-Orientales |publisher=CNRS Éditions |year=1986 |isbn=978-2-222-03821-4 |page=342 |language=fr |trans-title=Parishes and Communes of France: Pyrénées-Orientales}} The thermal baths were constructed in 1860, during the peak of Pyrenean thermalism, spurred by railway development and promoted by Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III.
Tourism and nearby culture
= Sports activities =
Just upstream from the hamlet, the Faget stream enables warm-water canyoning, even in winter, due to thermal springs with temperatures reaching up to {{convert|60|°C}}.{{cite web |title=Canyon d'eau chaude de Thuès – canyoning en hiver |trans-title=Thuès warm-water canyon – canyoning in winter |url=https://www.inextremis-aventura.fr/activites/canyoning/intermediaire/canyoning-eaux-chaudes-de-thues-entre-valls/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123092013/https://www.inextremis-aventura.fr/activites/canyoning/intermediaire/canyoning-eaux-chaudes-de-thues-entre-valls/ |archive-date=January 23, 2022 |access-date=6 February 2020 |website=inextremis-aventura.fr |language=fr}} While the stream is close to Thuès-les-Bains, it lies administratively on the border of Thuès-Entre-Valls.{{cite web |title=IGN Map: Faget Stream |url=https://www.geoportail.gouv.fr/carte |website=Géoportail |access-date=6 February 2020 |language=fr |quote=Location of Faget stream on IGN map, at the boundary of Thuès-Entre-Valls commune, a few hundred meters from Thuès-les-Bains hamlet (scale 1:17,055, commune boundaries in yellow; zoom in once for better stream localization).}}
= Saint-André d'Eixalada Monastery =
The Saint-André d'Eixalada Monastery, built in 840 near the hot springs on the right bank of the Têt River, about one kilometer downstream from the current thermal facility, was destroyed by a flood in October 878.{{cite book |last=Ponsich |first=Pierre |title=Le pays catalan |publisher=Éditions Loubatières |year=1989 |isbn=978-2-86266-115-5 |volume=2 |page=47 |language=fr |trans-title=The Catalan Country}} Less than forty years after its construction, the monks relocated to found the Abbey of Saint-Michel de Cuxa near Prades. No traces remain of the original Early Middle Ages structures.
See also
{{Portal|Pyrenees|France|Medicine|Geography|History}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Thuès-les-Bains}}
- {{cite web |title=Official website of Thuès-Entre-Valls |url=https://www.thues-entre-valls.fr/ |access-date=6 February 2020 |language=fr}}
- {{cite web |title=Maison d'accueil spécialisée de Thuès-les-Bains |url=http://www.masdessources-thues.fr/ |access-date=6 February 2020 |language=fr |trans-title=Specialized care facility of Thuès-les-Bains}}
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Category:Communes of Pyrénées-Orientales