Naut Aran () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the ''comarca'' of the

Val d'Aran Aran (; ; ) (previously officially called in Occitan Val d'Aran, Catalan: ''Vall d'Aran'', Spanish: ''Valle de Arán'') is an administrative entity (formerly considered a comarca) in Lleida, Catalonia, Spain, consisting of the Aran Valley, in ar ...

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 ...

, Spain. It is the second largest municipality in Catalonia in terms of surface area (225.8 km², behind

Tremp Tremp () is a municipality in Catalonia, Spain, the capital of the ''comarca'' of the Pallars Jussà. It is the largest municipality in Catalonia in terms of area (),The municipality of Tortosa is historically larger than Tremp, but was subdivid ...

), and was created in 1967 by the merger of the municipalities of Arties, Salardú, Gessa, Tredòs and Bagergue: the former municipalities retain some privileges as "decentralised municipal entities" (''entitats municipals descentralitzades'', EMD). The name literally means "Upper Valley" in

Aranese Aranese ( oc, aranés) is a standardized form of the Pyrenean Gascon variety of the Occitan language spoken in the Val d'Aran, in northwestern Catalonia close to the Spanish border with France, where it is one of the three official languag ...

, and both the

Garonne The Garonne (, also , ; Occitan, Catalan, Basque, and es, Garona, ; la, Garumna or ) is a river of southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux – a ...

(''Garona'') and the

Noguera Pallaresa The Noguera Pallaresa (; oc, Noguèra Palharesa, ) is a river in Catalonia, Spain. It is named after the Pallars region. Course Its source is at ''Era Font d'era Noguereta'' in the municipality of Naut Aran (Aran Valley) at an elevation of ab ...

have their sources on the territory of the municipality. The town hall is in Salardú. The municipality is linked to

Vielha Vielha e Mijaran (; ca, Viella – Mitg-Aran ) is a municipality in Aran, Lleida, Spain. It was created in 1970 by the merger of the municipalities of Arròs e Vila, Betlan, Escunhau, Gausac, Vielha and Vilac: some of the former municipalities re ...

by the C-28 road, which continues to Alt Àneu over the

Port de la Bonaigua Port de la Bonaigua (el. 2072 m., 6,798 ft) is a mountain pass in the Pyrenees in Catalonia, Spain. It connects Esterri d'Àneu in the Comarques of Catalonia, comarca of Pallars Sobirà with Vielha e Mijaran in the comarca of Aran, Catalonia, Aran ...

(2072 m). This road, the higher stretches of which are impassable in winter, was the only route between the Aran Valley and the rest of Spain before the opening of the Vielha tunnel in 1948.

Economy

The local economy is based almost entirely on tourism and winter sports. The ski resort of Vaquèira-Beret is one of the largest in the

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 ...

. A number of local churches have been classified as historic-artistic monuments: *Church of Sant Andreu de Salardú, which houses a thirteenth-century

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

(''el Crist de Salardú'') *Church of Santa Maria, in Arties *Church of Santa Eulària d'Unha (12th century)

Demography

Population figures from before 1967 are the totals for the five municipalities which combined to form Naut Aran.

Subdivisions

The municipality is composed of nine distinct settlements: *

Arties Arties is a locality located in the municipality of Naut Aran, in Province of Lleida province, Catalonia, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto ...

(445) *

Bagerque Bagerque is a locality and ''decentralized municipal entity'' located in the municipality of Naut Aran, in Province of Lleida province, Catalonia, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de Esp ...

(65) *

Garós Garós is a locality located in the municipality of Naut Aran, in Province of Lleida province, Catalonia, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto ...

(160), in the EMD of Arties e Garòs * Gessa (127) *

Montgarri Montgarri is a hamlet located in the municipality of Naut Aran, in Province of Lleida province, Catalonia, Spain. As of 2020, it has a population of 4. Geography Montgarri is located 190km north-northeast of Lleida Lleida (, ; Spanish: Léri ...

(1) *

Salardú Salardú is a locality located in the municipality of Naut Aran, in Province of Lleida province, Catalonia, Spain. As of 2020, it has a population of 630. Salardú is the capital of the municipality of Naut Aran Naut Aran () is a municipality i ...

(367) * Tredós (150) *

Unha The Unha or Eunha ( ko, 은하, 銀河, "Galaxy") is a North Korean expendable carrier rocket, which partially utilizes the same delivery system as the Taepodong-2 orbital launch system. History North Korea's first orbital space launch attempt ...

(75), in the EMD of Tredòs e Unha *Vaquèira (108) File:ARTIES I EL MONTARDO - IB-101.JPG, Arties File:GESSA - IB-651.JPG, Gessa File:SALARDÚ - VAL D'ARAN - IB-466.JPG, Salardú

Note

# ''Entitats municipals descentralitzades'' are governed by the ''Llei Municipal i de Règim Local de Catalunya'' (8/1987 de 15 d'abril de 1987). They correspond to ''entidades locales menores'' in the rest of Spain (known as ''entitats locals menors'' in the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid with ...

and the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...

References

* Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria; Rios Calvet, Jaume; Rabella Vives, Josep Maria (1989). ''Guia de Catalunya'', Barcelona: Caixa de Catalunya. (Spanish). (Catalan).

External links

Official site

Government data pages
{{Authority control Municipalities in Val d'Aran