Arinsal Andorra

Although Andorra is best known nowadays for its ski resorts and duty free shopping, the history of the country stretches back a lot further. In fact Andorra has been an independent co-principality for over 900 years and its borders have remained unchanged over that period. As foreign visitors and workers here it it easy to forget that there is a history and culture here from long before the ski lifts arrived, and I think it might be interesting for visitors to Arinsal to appreciate how the country came into existence.

According to legend Andorra was founded by Charlemagne in 805AD in recognition of the part the inhabitants played in fighting against the Moors. The earliest documented mention of Andorra is in the act of consecration of the cathedral of Santa Maria of Urgell in 839 which counts the Andorran parishes as belonging to the Counts of Urgell, who ceded them to the Bishops of Urgell in 988. The ownership of the region was disputed over the next three hundred years and there were several conflicts between counts and bishops on both sides of the border.

Conflict came to an end with the signing of the two Pariatges in 1278 and 1288 which established the Count of Foix on France and the Bishop of La Seu d'Urgell as co-sovereigns of Andorra. This arrangement is still in place today, although the title of the Count of Foix eventually passed to the French Crown and then to Napoleon and France's subsequent rulers. The nominal rulers at present are the Spanish co-prince - Joan Enric Vives i Sicília, Bishop of Urgell - and the French co-prince - Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France.

Andorra's first parliamentary body was the Land Council founded in 1419. The current parliament was established in 1993 with the adoption of the first written constitution. This marked the end of a 12 year reform of the Andorran political system and established the country as an independent democratic state, with the roles of the co-princes reduced to being largely symbolic positions.