Andorra, a country with history
With more than 1,000 years of history, the Principality of Andorra has a rich cultural heritage with outstanding items in each of its villages and valleys.
We invite you to take a brief tour through its history...
Legend...
Legend has it that Charlemagne founded Andorra in the year 805 AD in thanks for the help its inhabitants gave him in his fight against the Saracens.
Tradition...
The first document in which Andorra is mentioned is the act of consecration of the Santa Maria d'Urgell Cathedral in 839, which mentions the parishes of Andorra as a feudal tenure of the counts of Urgell.
History of counts, bishops and lords...
Between the 9th and 10th centuries, the valleys of Andorra belonged to the counts of Urgell, who in 988 AD awarded them to the Church of Urgell in exchange for other positions in the region of Cerdanya, although it was not until the 12th century, and thanks to an agreement signed in 1162 with the Bishop Arnau Sanç, that the people of Andorra recognised the church’s sovereignty over their territories.
This was a time of intense fighting between the counts of Urgell and the church, who unceasingly disputed the sovereignty of Andorra, which obliged the clerics to ask for help and protection from the most nearby states.
In recognition for this help, the house of Caboet received a feudal tenure in the valleys of Andorra. The marriages of successive generations of Caboet produced alliances with the houses of Castellbò, Foix and Bearn.
In the 13th century, the alliances changed and this was a time of fighting between the counts of Foix and the Church of Urgell in order to weaken the Bishops’ rights over Andorra.
Pact...
The hostilities were brought to an end with the signing of two arbitral sentences called the « Pareatges », signed in 1278 and 1288 by the Bishop of Urgell, Pere d'Urg, and the count of Foix, Roger Bernat III.
The « Pareatges » established the shared sovereignty of the Bishop of Urgell and the count of Foix over Andorra: the Principality of Andorra was thus created.
Today Andorra is still a co-principality, with the Bishop of Urgell and the President of the French Republic as co-princes in equality and in person.
Changes and environment...
In the course of the 15th century, the counts of Foix became sovereigns of Navarre and in the year 1589 Enrique, king of Navarre and count of Foix, viscount of Bearn and lord of Andorra, became king of France, thus joining the lordship of the counts of Foix with the crown.
In 1793, due to the feudal origin of the bonds joining Andorra and France, the French Republicans refused to relate to the people of Andorra and to receive their tributes.
In 1806, Napoleon restored the feudal tradition and the rights of the joint lordship of France over the Principality of Andorra.
Balance...
With its historical and political evolution Andorra is still a co-principality, with the Bishop of Urgell and the President of the French Republic as co-princes in equality and in person.
Evolution until our days...
From the feudal lordship to the constitutional heads of state, from the creation of the Consell de la Terra in 1419 as the first Parliamentary form with representatives from all of the parishes to deal with the problems of the community, until the present day, the people of Andorra have not stopped moving forward in modernising and updating their institutions.
In the second half of the 19th-century, the so-called New Reform brought substantial changes in the political and administrative arenas, amongst which was the attribution of the right to vote to all heads of households and the increased power of the Consell General.
In the year 1981, with the creation of the Consell Executiu, the most recent and decisive reforms began for the Principality of Andorra, which would culminate with the will of the people to have a written constitution.
The process was completed on 14 March 1993, with the first written constitution of Andorra, turning the Principality into an independent democratic and social state in law, and with a new definition of institutional competencies.