The Palau parish has been called with its latin name PALACIO since the 10th century. The parish does not appear in the consecration act of the URGELL cathedral of All Saints Day in the year 839. This exceptional document represents the veritable map of the historical geography of the URGELL diocese during the Middle Ages.

The etymology of the word « PALACIO » leads us wrongly to believe that Palau was the residence of the Counts of Cerdagne. It is more probable that Palau comes from the charm of living in it, due to the perfect exposition to the sun and to the mild climate.
Until the end of the 18th century, the old church was situated where the cemetry is now. As of the church was in a critical state, it was decided to rebuild in the heart of the village, where it was moved together with the beautifully sculpted Baptistry; made in the 13th century, the altarpiece representing the « Vierge au lait », painted around 1370 by Jacques SERRA as well as a 15th century statue, called Sainte Margurite, which really represents the « Vierge de la Délivrance », protector of pregnant women. To complete the decoration of the high altar, a majestic sculpted retable was added, coming from the BELLOCH monastery, dated 1668 dedicated to the Virgin Mary, representing the Annunciation and the Nativity.

In the 13th century, PALAU belonged to the powerful family de PINOS, who donated it to the Cistercian Abbey of SANTES CREUS, situated in the Terragone region. In Cerdagne, more specifically in the Carlit massif, the Abbey owned pasture lands for its sheep. It seems very likely that the donation by the baron de Pinos was meant to facilitate the transhumance of the livestock through the Palau forest, which accessed CERDAGNE from the RIBAS valley.

In the times of Louis XI, the Santes Creus Abbey was dispossessed from the Palau barony, and given by the king to the baron MERCADER, a staunch supporter of the royal policy in Cerdagne. The baron Mercader died leaving no descendant, and the Palau barony was inherited by the « Révérend Collège de Prêtres » of PUIGCERDA, until the French Revolution.

After the Pyrenees treaty in the 1659, Palau, which had then become a border town, witnessed many historical events: the Napoleonic wars between France and Spain, later on the carliste wars, which tore the neighbouring country apart, and finally the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).

The carliste general, who withdrew in Palau in a site called « Pré du Campement », now a camping site, was there disarmed there and his thoroughbred and his sword became possession of the SALSAS family, the owner of the field.

The famous historian Albert Salsas (1864-1940), who wrote extensively about the history of Cerdagne, the village where he was born, lived in Palau.
Historical note written in the collaboration with the Salsas family and the abbot Mathias Delcor, professor at the Sorbonne.