# Paulilles > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Paulilles > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Paulilles.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulilles > Source revision: 1356331521 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Paulilles** (Catalan: *Polilles*) is a [protected area](/source/Protected_area) on the Mediterranean Sea, located between the towns of [Port-Vendres](/source/Port-Vendres), and [Banyuls-sur-Mer](/source/Banyuls-sur-Mer) in [Pyrénées-Orientales](/source/Pyr%C3%A9n%C3%A9es-Orientales), [North Catalonia](/source/North_Catalonia), France. ## History ### The Dynamite Factory Paulilles Recreational Park occupies a rehabilitated [dynamite](/source/Dynamite) factory site protected as an [ecological network](/source/Ecological_network) by the [Natura 2000](/source/Natura_2000) European organisation. Originally serving as the French [Nobel](/source/Alfred_Nobel) Dynamite Factory, it was created by Nobel's associate in France, Paul François Barbe, and built in 1870.[1] Several accidents over the years caused multiple deaths: the most important ones killed 20 workers in 1882[2] and 5 in 1885.[3] ### Protecting the environment In July 1991, the installations were closed by the Société nationale des poudres et des explosifs (SNPE), and later sold to the [Conservatoire du littoral](/source/Conservatoire_du_littoral) in 1998 to protect the area from real estate developers.[4] In 2005, the [General Council of the Pyrénées-Orientales](/source/General_Council_of_the_Pyr%C3%A9n%C3%A9es-Orientales) launched the renovation to ready 9 buildings, destroy nearly 70, and landscape 17 hectares to turn Paulilles into a free and ecological recreational park, a museum on the [industrial heritage](/source/Industrial_heritage) of the factory and a traditional Catalan boat repair facility [\[1\]](https://web.archive.org/web/20090225032932/http://www.cg66.fr/environnement/espaces_naturels/paulilles/index.html).[5] Paulilles opens to the public in June 2008. ## Geography Paulilles is located about 2 miles (3 km) south of [Port-Vendres](/source/Port-Vendres) behind the **Las Portas pass** along the scenic [Route départementale 914](/source/Route_d%C3%A9partementale_914). It is a small scale Mediterranean bay, forming a prairie down to the sea between the **Béar cape**, and the **Oullestrell cape** and forms three beaches: **Bernardi**, **del Mitg**, **Fourat** separated by small cliffs in the bay. The original forest has been well preserved and is typical of the [Mediterranean region](/source/Mediterranean_region). It is composed of Aleppo pine (*[Pinus halepensis](/source/Pinus_halepensis)*), maritime pine (*[Pinus pinaster](/source/Pinus_pinaster)*), stone pine (*[Pinus pinea](/source/Pinus_pinea)*), for the [Pinaceae](/source/Pinaceae)) family. Also Holm oak (*[Quercus ilex](/source/Quercus_ilex)*), cork oak (*[Quercus suber](/source/Quercus_suber)*) and [olive](/source/Olive) trees (*[Olea europaea](/source/Olea_europaea)* ). Local flora is well represented with the *[Armeria](/source/Armeria)* of Roussillon (*[Armeria ruscinonensis](/source/Armeria_ruscinonensis)*), the polycarpon of Catalonia (*[Polycarpon polycarpoides](/source/Polycarpon_polycarpoides)*), *[Thymelaea hirsuta](/source/Thymelaea_hirsuta)*, *[Limonium tremolsii](/source/Limonium_tremolsii)*, and also *[Tamarix](/source/Tamarix)* ([Tamaricaceae](/source/Tamaricaceae)), and gattiliers (*[Vitex agnus-castus](/source/Vitex_agnus-castus)*). All the waters around Paulilles are also protected by [Natura 2000](/source/Natura_2000), for its *[Posidonia oceanica](/source/Posidonia_oceanica)*, a species of [seagrass](/source/Seagrass) that is endemic to the Mediterranean Sea and [Coralline algaes](/source/Coralline_algae) that offers shelter and nursing home for the rich aquatic life.[6] This marine plants forms large underwater meadows of high importance to the [environmental conservation](/source/Nature_conservation) of the region. ## Recreational opportunities - [Biking](/source/Biking) - [Hiking](/source/Hiking) - [Walking](/source/Walking) - [Bird watching](/source/Bird_watching) - [Swimming](/source/Human_swimming) - [Scuba diving](/source/Scuba_diving) ## See also - [Côte Vermeille](/source/C%C3%B4te_Vermeille) - [European Route of Industrial Heritage](/source/European_Route_of_Industrial_Heritage) ## References 1. ["Paulilles"](http://histoireduroussillon.free.fr/Villages/Histoire/Paulilles.php) 1. Article in *Le Républicain des Pyrénées Orientales*, 26 January 1882 1. Fabricio Cardenas, [Vieux papiers des Pyrénées-Orientales, *Explosion à Paulilles en 1885*](http://vieuxpapierspo.blogspot.fr/2015/07/explosion-paulilles-en-1885.html), 6 July 2015 1. ["Conservatoire du littoral"](https://web.archive.org/web/20090614082531/http://www.conservatoire-du-littoral.fr/front/process/Content.asp?rub=8&rubec=108&site=1990). Archived from [the original](http://www.conservatoire-du-littoral.fr/front/process/Content.asp?rub=8&rubec=108&site=1990) on 2009-06-14. Retrieved 2009-03-02. 1. ["Archived copy"](https://web.archive.org/web/20081115043453/http://www.cete-aix.fr/imgarea/Cotita_9_Paulilles_oct2008_COCHE_INCA.pdf). Archived from [the original](http://www.cete-aix.fr/imgarea/Cotita_9_Paulilles_oct2008_COCHE_INCA.pdf) on 2008-11-15. Retrieved 2009-03-04. 1. ["Natura 2000 : Fiche du site FR9101482 (POSIDONIES DE LA COTE DES ALBERES)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20081206192701/http://natura2000.ecologie.gouv.fr/sites/FR9101482.html). Archived from [the original](http://natura2000.ecologie.gouv.fr/sites/FR9101482.html) on 2008-12-06. Retrieved 2009-04-02. ## External links - [Website of the Conservatoire du littoral](https://web.archive.org/web/20100417053735/http://www.conservatoire-du-littoral.fr/front/process/Content.asp?rub=8&rubec=108&site=1990&entite=108) - [Presentation of the rehab project by the General Council of Pyrenees Orientales](https://web.archive.org/web/20090225032932/http://www.cg66.fr/environnement/espaces_naturels/paulilles/index.html) - [Detailed architecture information on the rehabilitation of Paulilles](https://web.archive.org/web/20081115043453/http://www.cete-aix.fr/imgarea/Cotita_9_Paulilles_oct2008_COCHE_INCA.pdf) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Paulilles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulilles) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulilles?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.