42°26′48″N1°57′10″E / 42.44667°N 1.95278°E /42.44667; 1.95278
Cerdanya La Cerdanya | |
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 Spring landscape of the Cerdanya inLlívia. | |
 Map showing Upper Cerdanya and Lower Cerdanya | |
| Country(s) |  France Spain |
| Subdivisions |  Occitanie Catalonia |
| Provinces |  Pyrénées-Orientales Province of Girona Province of Lleida |
| Comarques | Cerdanya Upper Cerdanya (no official status) |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,086.07 km2 (419.33 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,100 m (3,600 ft) |
| Population (2001) | |
• Total | 26,500 |
| • Density | 24.4/km2 (63.2/sq mi) |
Cerdanya (Catalan pronunciation:[səɾˈðaɲə]ⓘ;Spanish:Cerdaña,Spanish:[θeɾˈðaɲa]ⓘ;French:Cerdagne,pronounced[sɛʁdaɲ]ⓘ;Occitan:Cerdanha) or oftenLa Cerdanya[1][2][3] is anatural comarca andhistorical region of the easternPyrenees divided betweenFrance andSpain. Historically it was one of thecounties of Catalonia.
Cerdanya has a land area of 1,086.07 km2 (419 sq mi), divided almost evenly between Spain (50.3%) and France (49.7%). In 2001 its population was approximately 26,500, of whom 53% lived on Spanish territory. Its population density is 24 residents per km² (63 per sq. mile). The only urban area in Cerdanya is the cross-border urban area ofPuigcerdà-Bourg-Madame, which contained 10,900 inhabitants in 2001.
The area enjoys a high annual amount of sunshine – around 3,000 hours per year. For this reason, pioneering large-scale solar power projects have been built in several locations in French Cerdagne, includingFont-Romeu-Odeillo-Via, theThemis plant nearTargassonne, andMont-Louis Solar Furnace inMont-Louis.
The first inhabitants of Cerdanya probably spoke a language related to the oldBasque language and toAquitanian.[4] Many place names testify to this.[citation needed]
In the first millennium BC came theIberians from the south. In Cerdanya they probably mixed with the native inhabitants, and the resulting people were known as the Kerretes, from the native wordker orkar, meaningrock, related to old Basquekarri (modern Basqueharri),stone.
The Kerretes were of Iberian, non-Indo-European origin, and Iberians occupied positions at the top of the Kerrete society.[5]
The mainoppidum of the Kerretes, commanding the whole country, was calledKere and was built on the hill above the modern-day village ofLlívia (a Spanishexclave in French territory). Later the Kerretes came under Roman rule, and the Romans renamed the oppidumJulia Lybica,[4] with a significant number of Roman citizens settling there. During theRoman Empire, the area of Cerdanya was apagus known aspagus Liviensis (a name derived from its capital Julia Lybica), part of the province ofHispania Tarraconensis. Thepagus Liviensis was itself divided in two: the eastern part around Julia Lybica was known asCerretania Julia, while the western part was known asCerretania Augusta. The name Cerdanya comes fromCerretania, itself coming from the old name of the inhabitants, the Kerretes. As for Julia Lybica, the name evolved intoJulia Livia and thenLlívia.[4]
The Kerretes seem to have kept their old language until very late, probably as late as the 8th or 9th century.[citation needed] Romanization in the area was extremely slow, even though eventually the native language gave way, and the people in Cerdanya ended up speakingCatalan, a language derived from Latin. At the end of the Roman Empire, Julia Lybica entered a period of decadence, and lost much of its importance. It is around this time that the town ofLa Seu d'Urgell (inCatalonia, but outside of Cerdanya) started to replace Julia Lybica as the main center of population in that area of northern Catalonia, and in the 6th century when thediocese (bishopric) of Urgell was founded, Cerdanya was inside its limits.
Devastated by theVandals and other Germanic tribes, Cerdanya was part of theVisigothic kingdom ofToulouse and laterToledo, until eventually it was conquered by the Muslims. After Muslim expansion was halted byOdo the Great in theBattle of Toulouse (721), the Berber commanderUthman ibn Naissa established a small realm in Cerdanya and allied with Odo, so that the Aquitanian leader could secure his south-eastern borders. However, Uthman ibn Naissa came next under Umayyad attack and the Berber lord was defeated, opening the way toAbdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi's expedition into Aquitaine. DuringAbd al-Rahman I's military campaign across the Ebro region (781), the Cordovan commander received the submission of Ibn Belaskut, or Galindo Belascotenes, in Cerdanya. Under Carolingian pressure, Cerdanya became a Frankish vassal about 785.
Thecounty of Cerdanya has its origin in theSpanish Marches established byCharlemagne. In the 9th century, Cerdanya was one of the lordships united in the person of thecounts of Barcelona, who were also counts ofGirona,Narbonne, andUrgell.Wilfred the Hairy (count 870–897) had three sons and established the youngest, Miron (died 927), as Count of Cerdanya, a sovereign state.
The sovereign county of Cerdanya bordered thecounty of Urgell, thecounty of Barcelona, thecounty of Besalú, thecounty of Roussillon, and thecounty of Razès. The county of Cerdanya was made up of Cerdanya proper with the addition of other areas which it managed to acquire over time through inheritance, such asCapcir andConflent. Thus, the county of Cerdanya was actually quite an important county. The counts of Cerdanya were great patrons of abbeys, most famouslySaint-Michel de Cuxa (Catalan:Sant Miquel de Cuixà), dating back to the 10th century and located in Conflent, andSaint-Martin-du-Canigou (Catalan:Sant Martí del Canigó), dedicated by Count Guifred of Cerdanya in 1009.
However, the line of the counts died out in 1117 and the county was inherited by the counts of Barcelona, later to becomekings of Aragon.
Cerdanya proper was split between Spain and France by theTreaty of the Pyrenees of 1659, with the north of Cerdanya becoming French, while the south of Cerdanya remained Spanish. The counties ofRosselló,Capcir, andConflent also became French at that time.
Today, the Spanish side of Cerdanya is aCatalancomarca known asBaixa Cerdanya (i.e. "Lower Cerdanya"), and whose capital isPuigcerdà. Puigcerdà was already the capital of Cerdanya before the division of 1659, having replaced Hix in 1178 as capital of Cerdanya. Hix, the place where the counts of Cerdanya resided, is now a village inside thecommune ofBourg-Madame on the French side of the border. Hix had itself replacedLlívia, which was the ancient capital of Cerdanya inAntiquity. At the Treaty of the Pyrenees it was decided that Llívia would remain Spanish (allegedly because the treaty stipulated that only villages were to be ceded to France, and Llívia was considered a city and not a village, due to its status as the ancient capital of Cerdanya), so Llívia is now anenclave of Spain inside French territory.
The French side of Cerdanya is part of thedépartement ofPyrénées-Orientales and has no particular status. People in France refer to it asCerdagne française (that is, "French Cerdanya"), or justCerdagne, while people on the Spanish side refer to it asAlta Cerdanya ("Upper Cerdanya"). Its main towns are Bourg-Madame and the ski resort ofFont-Romeu.
Despite the split between France and Spain, ties remain between families on both sides of the border, with frequent travel from one country to the other. DuringWorld War I, Cerdanya has been the place of an important smuggling trade in which horses and mules went from French to Spanish Cerdanya, before being sold to the French army and going back to France throughLe Perthus.[6]
Known asFrench Cerdagne (Catalan:Alta Cerdanya), it is part of theFrench department ofPyrénées-Orientales, which itself is part of theOccitanie region. It has no special administrative self-government status apart from that of the department, thus solely being aphysiographic region within the department.
Known asBaixa Cerdanya. Unlike itsFrench counterpart, it does constitute its own administrative division inside theautonomous community ofCatalonia as acomarca or county, with its own self-ruling institutions known as theComarcal Council of Cerdanya, inside the already self-ruling autonomous Catalonia. All municipalities of Baixa Cerdanya are part of theCatalan region ofAlt Pirineu, this one itself divided between theSpanish provinces ofLleida andGirona.
| Municipality | Population (2014)[7] | Area km2[7] |
|---|---|---|
| Alp | 1,661 | 44.3 |
| Bellver de Cerdanya | 2,075 | 98.2 |
| Bolvir | 373 | 10.3 |
| Das | 220 | 14.6 |
| Fontanals de Cerdanya | 443 | 28.6 |
| Ger | 432 | 33.4 |
| Guils de Cerdanya | 536 | 22.0 |
| Isòvol | 301 | 10.8 |
| Lles de Cerdanya | 260 | 102.8 |
| Llívia | 1,536 | 12.9 |
| Meranges | 94 | 37.3 |
| Montellà i Martinet | 623 | 55.0 |
| Prats i Sansor | 248 | 6.6 |
| Prullans | 209 | 21.2 |
| Puigcerdà | 8,761 | 18.9 |
| Riu de Cerdanya | 106 | 12.3 |
| Urús | 185 | 17.4 |
| Total (17) | 18,063 | 546.6 |
Like neighboring areas of the Pyrenees, Cerdanya relies on tourism to provide strong support for the economy. Spas, skiing, and hiking are long-established attractions. In addition theYellow Train is a major tourist attraction.
La Cerdanya is best known amongst Barcelona locals and tourists for its skiing. "Masella" ski resort, located close to Urus and Alp, opened on January 3 and, due to the mountain's orientation to the North, offers one the longest skiing season in the Pyrenees.[8] The ski station today boasts of 62 slopes with 15 ski lifts, and since 2013, has nocturnal skiing.[9] Physically adjacent to Masella, though requiring a different ski pass, is "La Molina" with 68 ski slopes.[10] Due to La Cerdanya's close proximity to Andorra and France, its residents also enjoy skiing in "Font Romeu," "Formigueres," "Les Angles," and "Grandvalira."[11]
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