French Cerdagne (, ) is the northern half of Cerdanya, which came under French control as a result of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, while the southern half remained in Spain (as part of Catalonia). Catalans often refer to French Cerdagne as Upper Cerdanya (). It is the only French territory on the Iberian Peninsula, as it is located on the south side of the Pyrenees Range between France and Spain. For example, the Segre river, which goes west and then south to meet the Ebro, has its source in the French Cerdagne. An inadvertent result of the Treaty of the Pyrenees is the Spanish exclave of Llívia (the small uncolored area in the map) which is sovereign Spanish territory surrounded by French Cerdagne.
French Cerdagne has no special status inside France, simply forming an area within the department of Pyrénées-Orientales, unlike the Spanish part of Cerdanya, which is officially a Catalan comarca called simply Cerdanya. In France, the French area is referred to as either Cerdagne française (i.e. "French Cerdagne"), Haute-Cerdagne (i.e. "Upper Cerdagne") or just Cerdagne.
French Cerdagne has a land area of 539.67 km² (208.37 sq. miles). Its 1999 population was 12,035, resulting in a density of only 22 people per km² (58 per sq. mile).
French Cerdagne has the most cloud-free days in France, and was therefore chosen as the place to build:
the Odeillo solar furnace (official site), used for high-temperature scientific experiments; the Thémis experimental solar power plant (operated by EDF from 1983 to 1986); it is now decommissioned as a power plant, but is being used as a Cerenkov telescope for the detection of Gamma rays
Communes
Population at the 1999 French Census.
Angoustrine-Villeneuve-des-Escaldes (Catalan: Angostrina) – pop. 549
Bolquère (Catalan: Bolquera) – pop. 730 (779 at 2004 census) Bourg-Madame (Catalan: La Guingueta d’Ix) – pop. 1,166 (1,198 at 2004 census) Dorres – pop. 219 Égat (Catalan Èguet) – pop. 494 (475 at 2004 census) Enveitg (Catalan Enveig) – pop. 621 Err (Catalan Er) – pop. 551 Estavar – pop. 409 Eyne (Catalan Eina) – pop. 127 (161 at 2004 census) Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via (Catalan Font-Romeu, Odelló i Vià) – pop. 2,003 La Cabanasse (Catalan La Cabanassa) – pop. 622 (756 at 2004 census) Latour-de-Carol (Catalan La Tor de Querol) – pop. 367 Llo – pop. 133 Mont-Louis (Catalan Montlluís) – pop. 270 Nahuja (Catalan Naüja) – pop. 63 Osséja (Catalan Osseja) – pop. 1,282 Palau-de-Cerdagne (Catalan Palau de Cerdanya) – pop. 424 (496 at 2004 census) Planès – pop. 27 Porta – pop. 98 Porté-Puymorens (Catalan Portè) – pop. 147 Saillagouse (Catalan Sallagosa) – pop. 820 Sainte-Léocadie (Catalan Santa Llocaia) – pop. 140 Saint-Pierre-dels-Forcats (Catalan Sant Pere dels Forcats) – pop. 213 Targassonne (Catalan Targasona) – pop. 203 (194 at 2004 census) Ur – pop. 308 Valcebollère (Catalan: Vallsabollera) – pop. 49
See also
Cerdanya
Northern Catalonia
References
Literature
Peter Sahlins, Boundaries. The Making of France and Spain in the Pyrenees (Berkeley: Univ. of California Press, 1989).
External links
L'Alta Cerdanya in Catalan Encyclopaedia. Tourism in Cerdagne