The terçons (

Aranese Aranese () is a standardized form of the Pyrenean Gascon dialect, Gascon variety of the Occitan language spoken in the Val d'Aran, in northwestern Catalonia close to the France–Spain border, Spanish border with France, where it is one of the t ...

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...

: ''terçon''; Catalan: ''terçó'') form the geographical subdivision of the

Aran Valley Aran (; ; ) (often known as the Aran Valley, or Val d'Aran in Aranese Occitan; in other forms of Occitan: ''Vath d'Aran'' or ''Vau d'Aran'', in Catalan: ''Vall d'Aran'', in Spanish: ''Valle de Arán'') is an autonomous administrative entity (form ...

, in

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 ...

. It was in use from the granting of the Querimonia, in 1313, until its abolition in 1833 with the Spanish provincial division. It was then traditionally maintained in common use as an identity element until its restoration in 1990 as a constituency for the

General Council of Aran The General Council of Aran (Aranese dialect, Aranese: ''Conselh Generau d'Aran'') is the autonomous governing body of the Vegueries of Catalonia, territory of the Val d'Aran, Aran Valley in Catalonia. The chamber is headed by the Síndic d'Aran, S ...

History

Initially there were three terçons, hence the name (English: "thirds"), under the names of Garòs,

Vielha Vielha e Mijaran () is a municipality in central Aran, Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital and largest municipality of the region, with a population of . It is part of the terçons of Castièro and Marcatosa. It was created in 1970 by the mer ...

and

Bossòst Bossòst () is a small Pyrenean village and municipality located in western Aran, Catalonia. It has a population of . It is located in the terçon of Quate Lòcs. Situated on the left bank of the river Garona, the village is bordered by Les ...

. These corresponded to the three geographical areas of the valley:

Naut Aran Naut Aran () is a municipality in eastern Aran, Catalonia. It has a population of . It is located in the terçons of Arties e Garòs and Pujòlo. It is the second largest municipality in Catalonia in terms of surface area (225.8 km2, beh ...

(upper Aran), Mijaran (central Aran) and Baish Aran (lower Aran). In the 16th century each terçon was subdivided into two ''sesterçons'', which continued to be commonly called ''terçons'': * Garòs: Arties (today Arties e Garòs) and Pujòlo. *

: Marcatosa and Castièro. *

: Irissa and Quate Lòcs. The Querimonia, granted by

James the Just James the Just, or a variation of James, brother of the Lord ( from , and , , can also be Anglicized as "Jacob"), was, according to the New Testament, a brother of Jesus. He was the first Jewish bishop of Jerusalem. Traditionally, it is beli ...

in 1313, established the

as its own governing body made up of representatives from each terçon. The

Nueva Planta decrees The Nueva Planta decrees (, , ) were a number of decrees signed between 1707 and 1716 by Philip V of Spain, Philip V, the first House of Bourbon, Bourbon Monarchy of Spain, King of Spain, during and shortly after the end of the War of the Spani ...

did not abolish the Aranese

furs A fur is a soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an ...

, but its autonomy was significantly reduced. With the provincial division of 1833, the territory was integrated into the Spanish

province of Lleida The Province of Lleida (; ; ) is one of the four provinces of Catalonia. It lies in northeastern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Catalonia, and is bordered by the provinces of Girona, Barcelona, Tarragona, Zarag ...

, with the subsequent suppression of the General Council and the replacement of terçons by

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

. Despite no longer having an administrative function, the terçons continued to be maintained in a traditional way among the inhabitants of the valley as an identity mark. In 1977, during the

Spanish Transition The Spanish transition to democracy, known in Spain as (; ) or (), is a period of History of Spain, modern Spanish history encompassing the regime change that moved from the Francoist dictatorship to the consolidation of a parliamentary system ...

, an association with the name of ''Es Terçons'' was set up to defend the Aranese interests in the

Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 1979 The Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia (; also Statute of Sau, ''Estatut de Sau'', after the location where the statute was first made) is a constitutional law defining the region of Catalonia as an autonomous community within the Kingdom of Spain. ...

Administration

The law on the Aran Valley's special government restored the traditional administrative structure, which was superimposed on the municipal structure. In the elections to the General Council, each terçon elects their councillors as well. With a total of 13, each terçon is assigned a number of councillors following the number of inhabitants. {, class="wikitable" , + !Terçon !Municipalities !Towns !Councillors , - , Castièro
() ,

Vielha e Mijaran Vielha e Mijaran () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in central Val d'Aran, Aran, Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital and largest municipality of the region, with a population of . It is part of the Terçon, terçons of Castièro and Mar ...

(south) , * Vielha * Escunhau * Casarilh * Betren * Gausac * Casau , 4 , - , Marcatosa
() ,

(north) , * Vilac * Aubèrt * Betlan * Mont * Montcorbau * Arròs * Vila , 1 , - ,

Arties e Garòs Arties () 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 492. Geography Arties is located 168km north of Lleida Lleida (, ; ; '' see below'') is a ...

() ,

(south) , * Arties * Garòs , 2 , - , Pujòlo
() ,

(north) , * Tredòs * Bagergue * Salardú *

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

* Gessa , 2 , - , Irissa
() , *

Vilamòs Vilamòs () is a municipality in western Aran, Catalonia. It has a population of . The mayor is Oriol Sala Sánchez ( UA). It is located in the terçon The terçons (Aranese dialect, Aranese Occitan language, Occitan: ''terçon''; Catalan languag ...

* Arres * Es Bòrdes , , 1 , - , Quate Lòcs
({{IPA, oc, ˈkwa.te ˈlɔks, lang) , *

Les LES or Les may refer to: People * Les (given name) * Les (surname) * L.E.S. (producer), hip hop producer Space flight * Launch Entry Suit, worn by Space Shuttle crews * Launch escape system, for spacecraft emergencies * Lincoln Experimental ...

Canejan Canejan () is a municipality in northern Aran, Catalonia. It has a population of . It is located in the terçon The terçons (Aranese dialect, Aranese Occitan language, Occitan: ''terçon''; Catalan language, Catalan: ''terçó'') form the geogr ...

Bausen Bausen () is a municipality in the northwest of Aran, Catalonia. It has a population of . It is located in the terçon The terçons (Aranese dialect, Aranese Occitan language, Occitan: ''terçon''; Catalan language, Catalan: ''terçó'') form the ...

, , 3

References

External links

Law 16/1990 of 13 July - Generalitat de Catalunya
Val d'Aran History of the Pyrenees Administrative divisions in Europe Subdivisions of Spain Subdivisions of Catalonia Medieval Catalonia Types of administrative division

History

Administration

See also

References

External links