Bélesta, Pyrénées-Orientales

Bélesta (Occitan: Bèl Estar) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.

Bélesta Belhestar
Commune
A general view of Bélesta
Coat of arms
Location of Bélesta
Bélesta Bélesta
Coordinates: 42°43′06″N 2°36′28″E
Country	France
Region	Occitanie
Department	Pyrénées-Orientales
Arrondissement	Prades
Canton	La Vallée de l'Agly
Intercommunality	Communauté de communes de Roussillon Conflent
Government
• Mayor (2014-2020)	Frédéric Bourniole
Area ^1	20.52 km^2 (7.92 sq mi)
Population  (2017-01-01)[1]	221
• Density	11/km^2 (28/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	66019 /66720
Elevation	122–561 m (400–1,841 ft) (avg. 380 m or 1,250 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km^2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

Localisation

Bélesta is located in the canton of La Vallée de l'Agly and in the arrondissement of Perpignan.

Map of Bélesta and its surrounding communes

Neighbouring communes

Government and politics

Mayors

Mayor	Term start	Term end
Jacques Biles[2]	?	June 1815
Baptiste Pugnaud[2]	June 1815	?
Gilbert Bourniole	2001	2007
Roger Morin	2007	2014
Frédéric Bourniole	2014

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1962	306	—
1968	312	+2.0%
1975	262	−16.0%
1982	247	−5.7%
1990	223	−9.7%
1999	215	−3.6%
2006	214	−0.5%
2009	219	+2.3%

Sites of interest

The Bélesta dolmen

• Prehistory museum
• Bélesta dolmen
• Bélesta cave
• Church of Saint Barthelemy in Bélesta
• Church of Saint Barthelemy in Jonqueroles
• Llébrès, an abandoned medieval hamlet

See also

• Communes of the Pyrénées-Orientales department

References

1. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
2. Fabricio Cardenas, Vieux papiers des Pyrénées-Orientales, Bélesta, le 21 juin 1815, 31 january 2014