Puigcerdà (; , ) is the

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

of the Catalan ''

comarca A ''comarca'' (, , , ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, mark ...

'' of

Cerdanya Cerdanya (; , ; , ) or often La Cerdanya is a natural region, natural comarca and historical region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain. Historically it was one of the Catalan counties, counties of Catalonia. Cerdanya has a ...

, in the

province of Girona The Province of Girona ( ; ) is a Provinces of Spain, province in the northeastern part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. It is bordered on the northwest by the province of Lleida, on the southwest ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, northern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, near the Segre River and on the border with

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

(it abuts directly on the French town of Bourg-Madame). It has a population of .

History

Puigcerdà is located near the site of a Ceretani settlement, which was incorporated into Roman territory. The Roman town was named Julia Libyca (modern day

Llívia Llívia (; ) 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. It is named after Livia, the wife of Augustus and matr ...

). Puigcerdà was founded in 1178 by King

Alfonso I of Aragon Alfonso I (7 September 1134), called the Battler or the Warrior (), was King of Aragon and Navarre from 1104 until his death in 1134. He was the second son of King Sancho Ramírez and successor of his brother Peter I. With his marriage to U ...

, Count of Barcelona. In 1178 Puigcerdà replaced Hix as the capital of

. Hix is now a village in the commune of Bourg-Madame, in the French part of Cerdanya. In the closing stages of the 1672–1678

Franco-Dutch War The Franco-Dutch War, 1672 to 1678, was primarily fought by Kingdom of France, France and the Dutch Republic, with both sides backed at different times by a variety of allies. Related conflicts include the 1672 to 1674 Third Anglo-Dutch War and ...

, the town was captured by a French army under the duc de Noailles but returned to Spain in the Treaties of Nijmegen. Puigcerdà was unique during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

in having a democratically elected

Anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

council. The Portet-Saint-Simon–Puigcerdà railway was opened in 1929, crossing the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

to France.

Main sights

*Puigcerdà Pool *Torre del Campanar (12th century), the ruins of a parish church destroyed in 1936 * Romanesque church of Sant Tomàs de Ventajola, dating from 958 *Romanesque church of Sant Andreu Vilallobent, dating to the 10th century and later restored *Convent of St. Dominic, founded in 1291 and finished in the 15th century *Old Hospital (1190), in Romanesque- Gothic style

Notable people

* Pere Borrell del Caso (1835-1910), painter * Gemma Arró Ribot (born 1980), ski mountaineer * José Antonio Hermida (born 1978), 2010 cross country mountain biking world champion

References

External links

Government data pages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Puigcerda Municipalities in Cerdanya (comarca) 1177 establishments in Europe Municipalities in the Province of Girona France–Spain border crossings Populated places in the Province of Girona 12th-century establishments in Spain