Canillo | |
|---|---|
 Plaça de Sant Serni and Carrer Major of Canillo. | |
 Coat of arms | |
  Canillo Location of Canillo town within Andorra | |
| Coordinates (Canillo town):42°34′00″N1°36′00″E / 42.56667°N 1.60000°E /42.56667; 1.60000 | |
| Country | Andorra |
| Parishes | Canillo |
| Villages | Bordes d'Envalira,El Forn,El Tarter, El Vilar,Els Plans,Incles,L'Aldosa,Meritxell,Molleres,Prats,Ransol,Sant Pere,Soldeu |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Enric Casadevall Medrano (L'A) |
| Area | |
• Total | 121 km2 (47 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,526 m (5,007 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 4,826 |
| • Density | 42.12/km2 (109.1/sq mi) |
| Demonym(s) | canillenc, canillenca |
| Website | Official Tourism Office of Canillo |
Canillo (Catalan pronunciation:[kaˈniʎo]) is one of theseven parishes which make upAndorra. Canillo is also the name of the main town of the parish. The parish is considered the religious center of Andorra with the Sanctuary and Chapel ofOur Lady of Meritxell,patron saint of Andorra, and contains one of the best-preservedromanesque churches in the Pyrenees,Sant Joan de Caselles. It has a population of 4,826 as of 2011. Despite having a tourist vocation, the parish of Canillo still retains many livestock and agricultural traits. It bordersFrance to the north and east.
The etymological origin of the name of the parish Canillo and its capital is pre-Roman,Iberian orCeltic. It is documented for the first time in theActa de Consagració i Dotació de la Catedral de la Seu d'Urgell (Deed of Consecration and Endowment of the Cathedral of La Seu d'Urgell), during the 9th century, asKanillave orSant Serni de Kanillave. Later on it was referred to asCanilau as it appears in a document from 1176.[1]
InPrats is located thesanctuary ofRoc de les Bruixes, a set of rock-engraved ritual themes dating from theBronze Age and the Iberian era, to theEarly Middle Ages. Originally it was a sacred place from where the Iberians extracted stone powder to make ointments.[2] LateGothic remains such as the necropolis of Sant Joan de Caselles or the one asideSant Serni de Canillo in the late 7th and 8th century provide proof of the early Christianity in Andorra.[3][4]
The parish maintains its traditional character from theMedieval Period including old mills and traditional mountain houses. Such as the flour mill of thePeano, a sample of the old sources of wealth of the country, and the buildings that can be found in the old quarter of the capital, such asCa Armany,Cal Fluix orCal Ferrer Nou, as well as the old quarter ofSoldeu orIncles.[5]
The church of Sant Joan de Caselles, Romanesque building from the end of the 11th century, is perhaps one of the most emblematic churches of the Principality. Inside the temple there is a Romanesquestucco Majesty on a mural painting (12th century) and a Gothicaltarpiece from the 16th century with German and Italian influences.[6] The other churches in Canillo include the parish church of Sant Serni located in the old town of Canillo, original from the 12th century with the structure and interior elements ofBaroque style (17th-18th centuries), the church ofSant Miquel de Prats (12th-13th centuries) and the church ofSanta Creu de Canillo (1781) located in Canillo at the river bank of the Valira river.[7]
The town figures into the Andorran legendEl buner d'Ordino, in which a bagpiper from the parish ofOrdino, en route to a festival in Canillo, is chased and treed by wolves, but frightens them off by playing his instrument.[8]
The parish is intimately related to the national legend ofCharlemagne. The legend explains that Charlemagne entered through the Valleys from Incles, and made a ring on the mountain ofPic Negre of Juclà to tie his horse, marking the borders between Andorra andSabartés (Ariège), which It was in theCarolingian eraSabart, a small town today annexed toTarascon. Not far from the place it's found theCreu Gótica de Carlemany (Gothic Cross of Charlemagne), a tribute to the blacksmiths of the country.[9][10]
Also theCreu dels Set Braços (Cross of the seven arms) can be found in the parish. The cross is the origin of the tragic legend about a boy from Prats who thought that the devil could go find him someday. He accidentally killed one of his friends who wanted to scare him to make him a joke after returning from the town of Canillo to bring a barrel of wine. The body disappeared mysteriously, some say by the devil himself. In the place where the accident happened, they placed a cross in order that the passers remember and removed the consequence of such ugly act. The cross had seven arms, like seven were the young people who wanted to make fun of their compatriot. One of them disappeared, and, strangely coinciding, the cross also lost one of his arms.[11]
Canillo is the place of the Sanctuary ofOur Lady of Meritxell. According to legend, a shepherd found the image of the Virgin on a winter day under some flowering roses and decided to take it home. The image, however, returned three times to the same place where it had been found. Finally, the Andorrans decided to build a chapel there.[12] In 1873, theGeneral Council of the Valleys declared her the patron saint of the country and on 8 September 1921 it was declared the National Holiday of the Principality.[13]
The original sanctuary was of Romanesque style and was completely restored in the 17th century. In 1972, the sanctuary burned down, being completely destroyed along with the Romanesque statue of the Virgin. The construction of a new sanctuary was entrusted to the Spanish architectRicardo Bofill Levi. The new building was inaugurated in 1976. Inside it is still revered a replica of the Romanesque carving statue of the Virgin that was destroyed in the fire.[14]
The sanctuary was declared aMinor basilica on 13 May 2014 byPope Francis[15] and joined theMarian Route (Ruta Mariana), a cultural-religious nature route, together withOur Lady of the Pillar,Our Lady of Torreciudad,Our Lady of Montserrat andOur Lady of Lourdes.[16]
The localities of Canillo parish includeSoldeu, Bordes d'Envalira,El Tarter,Sant Pere,Ransol,Els Plans,El Vilar,l'Aldosa,El Forn,Incles,Prats,Meritxell andMolleres. Unlike the rest of Andorra, Canillo is divided byveïnats (neighborhoods). Canillo Parish is Andorra's largest parish, at 121 square kilometers (47 sq mi).
Large natural places and areas in the parish include theIncles Valley, theRansol Valley and theMontaup Valley. On the hiking trail of the Incles Valley is located theEstany de Juclà, the largest lake in Andorra, with 21.3 hectares (0.21 km2).[17]
Canillo has ahumid continental climate (Köppen climate classificationDfb). The average annual temperature in Canillo is 6.2 °C (43.2 °F). The average annual rainfall is 992.2 mm (39.06 in) with May as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around 15.0 °C (59.0 °F), and lowest in January, at around −1.4 °C (29.5 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Canillo was 36.0 °C (96.8 °F) on 1 July 1994; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −23.0 °C (−9.4 °F) on 11 February 1956.
| Climate data for Canillo (1981–2010 averages, extremes 1934−2017) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 16.0 (60.8) | 17.0 (62.6) | 20.0 (68.0) | 22.0 (71.6) | 29.0 (84.2) | 35.0 (95.0) | 36.0 (96.8) | 32.0 (89.6) | 29.0 (84.2) | 24.0 (75.2) | 20.0 (68.0) | 14.0 (57.2) | 36.0 (96.8) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 2.7 (36.9) | 5.0 (41.0) | 8.0 (46.4) | 9.4 (48.9) | 13.7 (56.7) | 18.7 (65.7) | 22.5 (72.5) | 22.0 (71.6) | 17.8 (64.0) | 12.8 (55.0) | 6.4 (43.5) | 3.0 (37.4) | 11.9 (53.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −1.4 (29.5) | −0.3 (31.5) | 2.4 (36.3) | 4.0 (39.2) | 7.8 (46.0) | 12.0 (53.6) | 15.0 (59.0) | 14.7 (58.5) | 11.2 (52.2) | 7.2 (45.0) | 2.2 (36.0) | −0.8 (30.6) | 6.2 (43.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −5.5 (22.1) | −5.5 (22.1) | −3.3 (26.1) | −1.4 (29.5) | 1.9 (35.4) | 5.3 (41.5) | 7.6 (45.7) | 7.5 (45.5) | 4.6 (40.3) | 1.6 (34.9) | −1.9 (28.6) | −4.5 (23.9) | 0.6 (33.1) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −20.2 (−4.4) | −23.0 (−9.4) | −18.0 (−0.4) | −13.0 (8.6) | −7.0 (19.4) | −5.0 (23.0) | −1.0 (30.2) | −1.0 (30.2) | −6.0 (21.2) | −10.0 (14.0) | −14.0 (6.8) | −19.0 (−2.2) | −23.0 (−9.4) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 68.8 (2.71) | 42.7 (1.68) | 56.7 (2.23) | 94.8 (3.73) | 106.4 (4.19) | 100.5 (3.96) | 73.8 (2.91) | 88.1 (3.47) | 95.8 (3.77) | 95.4 (3.76) | 87.9 (3.46) | 81.3 (3.20) | 992.2 (39.06) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 8.1 | 6.6 | 8.1 | 11.8 | 12.7 | 9.8 | 7.4 | 8.6 | 7.8 | 9.2 | 8.6 | 8.2 | 107.0 |
| Source:Météo France[18] | |||||||||||||
One of the earliest celebrations in Canillo during January isSant Antoni, in which the traditional markets are celebrated andvianda is distributed, which is a mountain soup. Thecrema del mai (burning ofmai) is celebrated to left behind the hard winter: traditionally a spruce fir tree was burned and people in town sang and danced around it until the flames consumed it. The tree is still burning up nowadays, one of those used as a decoration on the public road duringChristmas, and theater groups encourage the party for the little ones.[19][20]
Another very deeply rooted festival is theCarnival, also known as theHarlequin Festival where the typical costume is that ofharlequin, which is made out of clothes and scrolls (bells) and appears after the hanging of the king Carnival orrei Carnestoltes.[21]
Already in the middle of the summer, the Canillo Festival is celebrated and began theSheepdog Contest at the Planells de Mereig, organized by the local government and theAssociation of the Canillo Sheepdog Contest, as part of the Championship of the Catalan Countries.[22]
Soldeu-El Tarter hostedWorld Cup alpine events for the first time in February2012;[23] and then in February2016 asuper-G and acombined.[24] The World Cup finals (eight events) are scheduled for Soldeu in March2019.[25]
During the summer, mountain activities such as railroads, hiking and climbing routes are organized in the parish, as well as bike and cycling routes inGrand Valira andVall d'Incles. In Canillo is located the highest golf course in Europe, located at 2,250 m altitude (7382 feet), created by the British architectJeremy Pern.[26]
ThePalau de Gel d'Andorra, sports and leisure center located in Canillo for ice skating, ice hockey and curling is the headquarters of theAndorran Federation of Ice Sports[27] and clubs.[28] It will host 2025IIHF Development Cup.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 420 | — |
| 1980 | 755 | +79.8% |
| 1990 | 1,513 | +100.4% |
| 2000 | 2,808 | +85.6% |
| 2010 | 6,194 | +120.6% |
| 2020 | 5,320 | −14.1% |
| Source: Departament d'Estadística[29] | ||
The largest ethnic group in Canillo are Andorrans. There is also a significant number ofSpaniards andPortuguese people. The following table shows the largest foreign ethnic groups in Canillo by nationality, as of 2013:
| Rank | Nationality | Population (2013) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Spain | 1,201 |
| 2 |  Portugal | 542 |
| 3 |  France | 433 |
| 4 |  United Kingdom | 147 |
| 5 |  Argentina | 110 |
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Media related toCanillo (parish) at Wikimedia Commons
Places adjacent to Canillo | |
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