Cerdagne

Cerdagne (Catalan: Cerdanya; French: Cerdagne; Spanish: Cerdaña) is a small region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain and which is historically one of the counties of Catalonia.

Current division

Cerdagne proper was split between Spain and France at the Treaty of the Pyrenees of 1659, with the north of Cerdagne becoming French, while the south of Cerdagne remained Spanish. Capcir and Conflent also became French at that time.

Related Topics:
Treaty of the Pyrenees - 1659

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Today, the Spanish side of Cerdagne is a Catalan comarca known as Baixa Cerdanya (i.e. "Lower Cerdagne"), and whose capital is Puigcerdà. Puigcerdà was already the capital of Cerdagne before the division of 1659, having replaced Hix in 1178 as capital of Cerdagne. Hix is the place where the counts of Cerdagne resided, and is now a village inside the commune of Bourg-Madame on the French side of the border. Hix had itself replaced Llívia, which was the ancient capital of Cerdagne in the Antiquity. 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 Cerdagne), so Llívia is now an exclave of Spain inside French territory.

Related Topics:
Catalan ''comarca'' - Baixa Cerdanya - Puigcerdà - Hix - 1178 - Commune - Bourg-Madame - Llívia - Antiquity - Exclave

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The French side of Cerdagne is part of the département of Pyrénées-Orientales and has no particular status. People in France refer to it as Cerdagne française (i.e. "French Cerdagne"), or just Cerdagne, while people in Catalonia refer to it as "High Cerdagne" (Alta Cerdanya). Its main towns are Bourg-Madame and the ski resort of Font-Romeu.

Related Topics:
Département - Pyrénées-Orientales - French Cerdagne - Alta Cerdanya - Font-Romeu

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