Cerdanya () or often La Cerdanya ( la, Ceretani or ''Ceritania''; french: Cerdagne; es, Cerdaña), is a natural comarca and

historical region Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which at some point in time had a cultural, ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that ...

of the eastern

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

divided between

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Historically it was one of the counties of Catalonia. Cerdanya has a land area of , 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 of

Puigcerdà Puigcerdà (; es, Puigcerdá) is the capital of the '' Catalan comarca'' of Cerdanya, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, northern Spain, near the Segre River and on the border with France (it abuts directly onto the French town of Bourg-Ma ...

Bourg-Madame Bourg-Madame (; ca, La Guingueta d'Ix) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Localisation Bourg-Madame is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement of Prades. It ...

, 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, including

Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via (; ca, Font-romeu, Odelló i Vià), or simply Odeillo, is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales and Cerdagne near the Spanish border in the south of France. It comprises the villages of Odeillo and Via, as well as Font-Rom ...

, the Themis plant near

Targassonne Targasonne (; ca, Targasona; before 2022: ''Targassonne'') is a commune of Cerdanya in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in south of France. Targasonne is the home of the THEMIS Solar Power R&D Center. Geography Targasonne is located in ...

, and

Mont-Louis Solar Furnace The Mont-Louis Solar Furnace is an experimental solar furnace - a solar thermal energy facility that was built in 1949. It was the first facility of its kind in the world, and was a precursor of the Odeillo Solar Furnace. It provides a thermal p ...

Mont-Louis Mont-Louis (; or ''el Vilar d'Ovansa'') is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Mont-Louis is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement of Prades. Mont-Louis-La Cab ...

History

Antiquity

The first inhabitants of Cerdanya probably spoke a language related to the old Basque language and to Aquitanian. Many place names testify to this. In the first millennium BC came the

Iberians The Iberians ( la, Hibērī, from el, Ἴβηρες, ''Iberes'') were an ancient people settled in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula, at least from the 6th century BC. They are described in Greek and Roman sources (among ...

from the south. In Cerdanya they probably mixed with the native inhabitants, and the resulting people were known as the Kerretes, from the native word ''ker'' or ''kar'', meaning ''rock'', related to old Basque ''karri'' (modern Basque ''harri''), ''stone''. The Kerretes were probably essentially of Basque and Aquitanian-related stock, as the Iberian clans who mixed with the native inhabitants can have comprised only small numbers of people. The Kerretes retained a language related to old Basque and Aquitanian, although some Iberian words may have entered the language, and Iberians probably occupied positions at the top of the Kerrete society. The main

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretchi ...

of the Kerretes, commanding the whole country, was called ''Kere'' and was built on the hill above the modern-day village of

Llívia Llívia (; es, Llivia ) is a town in the ''comarca'' of Cerdanya, province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is a Spanish exclave surrounded by the French ''département'' of Pyrénées-Orientales. In 2009, the municipality of Llívia had a total ...

(a Spanish

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

in French territory). Later the Kerretes came under Roman rule, and the Romans renamed the oppidum ''Julia Lybica'', with a significant number of Roman citizens settling there. During the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

, the area of Cerdanya was a ''pagus'' known as ''pagus Liviensis'' (a name derived from its capital Julia Lybica), part of the province of

Hispania Tarraconensis Hispania Tarraconensis was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania. It encompassed much of the northern, eastern and central territories of modern Spain along with modern northern Portugal. Southern Spain, the region now called Andalusia was the ...

. The ''pagus Liviensis'' was itself divided in two: the eastern part around Julia Lybica was known as ''Cerretania Julia'', while the western part was known as ''Cerretania Augusta''. The name Cerdanya comes from ''Cerretania'', itself coming from the old name of the inhabitants, the Kerretes. As for Julia Lybica, the name evolved into ''Julia Livia'' and then ''Llívia''. The Kerretes seem to have kept their old language until very late, probably as late as the 8th or 9th century. Romanization in the area was extremely slow, even though eventually the native language gave way, and the people in Cerdanya ended up speaking

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

, 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 of

La Seu d'Urgell La Seu d'Urgell (; es, Seo de Urgel, formerly in ca, Urgell}) is a town located in the Catalan Pyrenees in Spain. La Seu d'Urgell is also the capital of the comarca Alt Urgell, head of the judicial district of la Seu d'Urgell and the seat of Bi ...

(in

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

, 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 the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

(bishopric) of Urgell was founded, Cerdanya was inside its limits.

Middle Ages

Devastated by the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The ...

and other Germanic tribes, Cerdanya was part of the

Visigothic The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...

kingdom of

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

and later Toledo, until eventually it was conquered by the Muslims. After Muslim expansion was halted by

Odo the Great Odo the Great (also called ''Eudes'' or ''Eudo'') (died 735–740), was the Duke of Aquitaine by 700. His territory included Vasconia in the south-west of Gaul and the Duchy of Aquitaine (at that point located north-east of the river Garonne), a r ...

in the

Battle of Toulouse (721) The Battle of Toulouse (721) was a victory of an Aquitanian Christian army led by Duke Odo of Aquitaine over an Umayyad Muslim army besieging the city of Toulouse, and led by the governor of Al-Andalus, Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani. The vict ...

, the Berber commander

Uthman ibn Naissa Uthman ibn Naissa () better known as Munuza, was a Berber governor depicted in different contradictory chronicles during the Umayyad conquest of Hispania. Munuza in Asturias One account says that he was the governor of Gijón (or possibly León) ...

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 to

Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd Allah Al-Ghafiqi ( ar, عبدالرحمن بن عبداللّه الغافقي, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Ghāfiqī; died 732), was an Arab Umayyad commander of Andalusian Muslims. He unsuccessfully led into ...

's expedition into Aquitaine. During Abd 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. ;County of Cerdanya The

county of Cerdanya The County of Cerdanya ( ca, Comtat de Cerdanya, ; la, Comitatus Ceritaniae; es, Condado de Cerdaña, french: Comté de Cerdagne) was one of the Catalan counties formed in the last decades of the 8th century by the Franks in the ''Marca Hispanica' ...

has its origin in the

Spanish Marches The Hispanic March or Spanish March ( es, Marca Hispánica, ca, Marca Hispànica, Aragonese and oc, Marca Hispanica, eu, Hispaniako Marka, french: Marche d'Espagne), was a military buffer zone beyond the former province of Septimania, est ...

established by

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

. In the 9th century, Cerdanya was one of the lordships united in the person of the

counts of Barcelona The Count of Barcelona ( ca, Comte de Barcelona, es, Conde de Barcelona, french: Comte de Barcelone, ) was the ruler of the County of Barcelona and also, by extension and according with the Usages of Barcelona, usages and Catalan constitutions, of ...

, who were also counts of

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan language, Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter River, Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in ...

Narbonne Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in France, commune in Southern France in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. It lies from Paris in the Aude Departments of Franc ...

, and

Urgell Modern-day Urgell (), also known as ''Baix Urgell'' (''baix'' meaning "lower", by contrast with Alt Urgell "Higher Urgell"), is a ''comarca'' (county) in Catalonia, Spain, forming only a borderland portion of the region historically known as Ur ...

Wilfred the Hairy {{Infobox noble, type , name = Wilfred , title = Count of Barcelona , image = Wilfredo el Velloso 01.jpg , image_size = 150px , caption = Statue in Madrid, L. S. Carmona, 1750–53 , al ...

(count 870–897) had three sons and established the youngest, Miron (died 927), as Count of Cerdanya, a sovereign state. Rosselló i Cerdanya sobre mapa actual

The sovereign county of Cerdanya bordered the

county of Urgell The County of Urgell ( ca, Comtat d'Urgell, ; la, Comitatus Urgellensis) is one of the historical Catalan counties, bordering on the counties of Pallars and Cerdanya. History The county of Urgell was carved by the Franks out of a former sectio ...

, the

county of Barcelona The County of Barcelona ( la, Comitatus Barcinonensis, ca, Comtat de Barcelona) was originally a frontier region under the rule of the Carolingian dynasty. In the 10th century, the Counts of Barcelona became progressively independent, heredi ...

, the

county of Besalú The County of Besalú ( ca, Comtat de Besalú, ; la, Comitatus Bisuldunensis) was one of the landlocked medieval Catalan counties near the Mediterranean coastline. It was roughly coterminous with the modern ''comarca'' of Garrotxa and at various t ...

, the

county of Roussillon The County of Roussillon ( ca, Comtat de Rosselló, , la, Comitatus Ruscinonensis) was one of the Catalan counties in the Marca Hispanica during the Middle Ages. The rulers of the county were the counts of Roussillon, whose interests lay both no ...

, and the county 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 as

Capcir Capcir (; ) is a historical Catalan comarca of Northern Catalonia, now part of the French department of Pyrénées-Orientales. The capital of the comarca was Formiguera, and it borders the historical comarques of Conflent and Alta Cerdanya. Ca ...

and

Conflent Conflent () is a historical Catalan comarca of Northern Catalonia, now part of the French department of Pyrénées-Orientales. In the Middle Ages it comprised the County of Conflent. The capital of this ''pays'' is Prades ( ca, Prada de Conf ...

. Thus, the county of Cerdanya was actually quite an important county. The counts of Cerdanya were great patrons of abbeys, most famously

Saint-Michel de Cuxa The abbey of Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa () is a Benedictine abbey located in the territory of the commune in France, commune of Codalet, in the Pyrénées-Orientales ''département in France, département'', in southwestern France. It was founded initial ...

(Catalan: ''Sant Miquel de Cuixà''), dating back to the 10th century and located in Conflent, and

Saint-Martin-du-Canigou The abbey of Saint-Martin-du-Canigou (Catalan: ''Sant Martí del Canigó'') is a monastery built in 1009 in the Pyrenees of Northern Catalonia on Canigou mountain in present-day southern near the Spanish border. Pau Casals wrote a composition ...

(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 become

kings of Aragon This is a list of the kings and queens of Aragon. The Kingdom of Aragon was created sometime between 950 and 1035 when the County of Aragon, which had been acquired by the Kingdom of Navarre in the tenth century, was separated from Navarre in ...

Modern times

Cerdanya proper was split between Spain and France by the

Treaty of the Pyrenees The Treaty of the Pyrenees (french: Traité des Pyrénées; es, Tratado de los Pirineos; ca, Tractat dels Pirineus) was signed on 7 November 1659 on Pheasant Island, and ended the Franco-Spanish War that had begun in 1635. Negotiations were ...

of 1659, with the north of Cerdanya becoming French, while the south of Cerdanya remained Spanish. The counties of Rosselló,

, and

also became French at that time. Today, the Spanish side of Cerdanya is a Catalan ''comarca'' known as

Baixa Cerdanya Cerdanya (; es, Baja Cerdaña, ; french: Basse-Cerdagne, ) is a ''comarca'' in northern Catalonia, in the Pyrenees, on the border of Catalonia with France and Andorra. Within Catalonia, Cerdanya is divided between Catalan provinces of Girona and ...

(i.e. "Lower Cerdanya"), and whose capital is

. 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 the

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

on the French side of the border. Hix had itself replaced

, which was the ancient capital of Cerdanya in 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 Cerdanya), so Llívia is now an

of Spain inside French territory. The French side of Cerdanya is part of the ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

'' of

Pyrénées-Orientales Pyrénées-Orientales (; ca, Pirineus Orientals ; oc, Pirenèus Orientals ; ), also known as Northern Catalonia, is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France, adjacent to the northern Spanish frontier and the Mediterranean Sea. ...

and has no particular status. People in France refer to it as ''Cerdagne française'' (that is, "French Cerdanya"), or just ''Cerdagne'', while people on the Spanish side refer to it as ''

Alta Cerdanya French Cerdagne ( ca, Alta Cerdanya, ) is the northern half of Cerdanya, which came under French control as a result of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, while the southern half remained in Spain (as part of Catalonia). Catalans often refer t ...

'' ("Upper Cerdanya"). Its main towns are Bourg-Madame and the ski resort of

Font-Romeu Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via (; ca, Font-romeu, Odelló i Vià), or simply Odeillo, is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales and Cerdagne near the Spanish border in the south of France. It comprises the villages of Odeillo and Via, as well as Font-R ...

. 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. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, 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 through

Le Perthus Le Perthus (, ca, El Pertús, ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Natives of Le Pertus are called ''Perthusiens'' and, in 2016, there were 586 inhabitants. Le Perthus is also one of French territories on th ...

Municipalities

French side

Known as

French Cerdagne French Cerdagne ( ca, Alta Cerdanya, ) is the northern half of Cerdanya, which came under French control as a result of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, while the southern half remained in Spain (as part of Catalonia). Catalans often refer t ...

(Catalan: ''Alta Cerdanya''). *

Angoustrine-Villeneuve-des-Escaldes Angoustrine-Villeneuve-des-Escaldes (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Localisation Angoustrine-Villeneuve-des-Escaldes is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arr ...

(Catalan: ''Angostrina'') *

Bolquère Bolquère (; ca, Bolquera) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Localization Bolquère is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement of Prades. Transporta ...

(Catalan: ''Bolquera'') *

(Catalan: ''La Guingueta d’Ix'') *

Dorres Dorres (; ca, Dorres) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Localisation Dorres is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement of Prades. History Various t ...

Égat Égat ( ca, Èguet) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Localisation Égat is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement of Prades The arrondissement of Prades ...

(Catalan ''Èguet'') *

Enveitg Enveitg (; , ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Localization Enveitg is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement of Prades. Transport Latour-de-Car ...

(Catalan ''Enveig'') * Err (Catalan ''Er'') *

Estavar Estavar (; ca, Estavar) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Estavar is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement of Prades The arrondissement of Prades is an a ...

Eyne Eyne (; ca, Eina) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Localization Eyne is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement of Prades. Population Sites of ...

(Catalan ''Eina'') *

(Catalan ''Font-Romeu'' or ''Odelló i Vià'') *

La Cabanasse La Cabanasse (; ca, La Cabanassa) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Localisation La Cabanasse is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement of Prades. G ...

(Catalan ''La Cabanassa'') *

Latour-de-Carol Latour-de-Carol (; ca, La Tor de Querol) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Localization Latour-de-Carol is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement of Prades ...

(Catalan ''La Tor de Querol'') *

Llo Llo (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales Departments of France, department in southern France. Geography Llo is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement of Prades. Population ...

(Catalan ''Montlluís'') *

Nahuja Nahuja (; ca, Naüja) is a small village in the Cerdanya which is part of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. It is only 8 km far from the Spanish border in Puigcerdà. Its closest neighbour towns are Osséja and Saint ...

(Catalan ''Naüja'') *

Osséja Osséja (; ca, Oceja) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Osséja is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement of Prades. Osséja station has rail connections ...

(Catalan ''Osseja'') *

Palau-de-Cerdagne Palau-de-Cerdagne ( ca, Palau de Cerdanya) is a commune in the eastern Pyrenees (Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France). The people of the town celebrate the Xicolatada, every year, on the 16th of August. Geography Palau-de-C ...

(Catalan ''Palau de Cerdanya'') *

Planès Planès () is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Planès is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement of Prades. Planès station has rail connections to Villefranche ...

(Catalan ''Planès'') *

Porta Porta can refer to: People * Porta (rapper) (born 1988), stagename of Christian Jiménez Bundo, a Spanish rap singer * Bernardo Porta (1758–1829), Italian composer active in France * Bianca Della Porta (born 1991), Canadian ice hockey and rugby ...

Porté-Puymorens Porté-Puymorens (; ca, Portè) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Porté-Puymorens is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement of Prades. Porté-Puymorens s ...

(Catalan ''Portè'') *

Saillagouse Saillagouse (; ca, Sallagosa) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. The inhabitants are called ''Saillagousains''. Geography Saillagouse is in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondisseme ...

(Catalan ''Sallagosa'') *

Saint-Pierre-dels-Forcats Saint-Pierre-dels-Forcats ( ca, Sant Pere dels Forcats) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Saint-Pierre-dels-Forcats is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arrondissement ...

(Catalan ''Sant Pere dels Forcats'') *

Sainte-Léocadie Sainte-Léocadie (; ca, Santa Llocaia, named after the catholic saint Leocadia) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Sainte-Léocadie is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in ...

(Catalan ''Santa Llocaia'') *

(Catalan ''Targasona'') * Ur *

Valcebollère Valcebollère (; ca, Vallsabollera) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales Departments of France, department in southern France. Geography Valcebollère is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the arr ...

(Catalan: ''Vallsabollera'')

Spanish side

Known as

Economy

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 the

Yellow train The ''Ligne de Cerdagne'', usually referred to as ''Le Petit Train Jaune'' ( en, Little Yellow Train, ca, Tren Groc), is a gauge railway that runs from Villefranche-de-Conflent to Latour-de-Carol-Enveitg in the French Pyrenees. Construction sta ...

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 3rd and, due to the mountain's orientation to the North, offers one the longest skiing season in the Pyrenees. The ski station today boasts of 62 slopes with 15 ski lifts, and since 2013, has nocturnal skiing. Physically adjacent to Masella, though requiring a different ski pass, is "La Molina" with 68 ski slopes. Due to La Cerdanya's close proximity to Andorra and France, its residents also enjoy skiing in "Font Romeu," "Formigueres," "Les Angles," and "Grandvalira."

Notable people

* Dr. José Baselga, oncologist

History

Antiquity

Middle Ages

Modern times

Municipalities

French side

Spanish side

Economy

Notable people

References

External links