Andorra la Vella

Andorra la Vella (in Catalan and officially: Andorra la Vella) is the capital and one of the seven parishes of the Principality of Andorra, being also the smallest and most populated of all. The population is divided into three nuclei: Santa Coloma, the old village of La Margineda and Andorra la Vieja itself. It is the smallest capital (within a territory that is not a city-state) in Europe.

The city is located in the Pyrenees, near the confluence of the Valira del Norte and Valira de Oriente rivers, which form the Valira river, at an altitude of 1022 meters above sea level, making it the capital of State at the highest altitude above sea level in all of Europe.

Etymology

The name in Catalan is Andorra la Vella. The name La Vella literally means "the town" or "the city" and it was added to distinguish this population from the homonymous territory, as capital.

The Spanish translation "la vieja", as well as the French "la vielle" that gives rise to it, arise from an error based on the homophony between the Catalan word vella and the French vielle.

History

Human presence in Andorra dates back to before the Christian era. The parish of Andorra is mentioned for the first time in the act of consecration of the Seo de Urgell cathedral in the year 839; It has been the capital since the establishment of the Principality in 1278, after the Bishopric of Urgell and the County of Foix decided to share the sovereignty of the Andorran territory.

In 1978 the parish of Escaldes-Engordany split from Andorra la Vella, becoming the youngest of the Andorran parishes.

In 1993 the new Constitution established a democratic parliament, with an executive, legislative and judicial system, all located in the city.

Population

The city of Andorra la Vella forms an urban agglomeration with around 50,000 inhabitants, together with the parishes of Escaldes-Engordany (16,000 inhabitants) to the east and San Julián de Loria (9,000 inhabitants) to the south. This agglomeration extends longitudinally following the route of the road.

Andorra la Vella has 22,886 inhabitants, according to the 2015 census. The population is made up of 44% Spanish, 33% Andorran, 11% Portuguese and 6% French, plus some other minority communities (6%)

Andorra currently has a population of 77,659 inhabitants in the year 2021

Climate

The climate in Andorra la Vella is high-mountain oceanic, highly influenced by ocean currents. This means that it can be extreme, but much less than in other similar places taking into account the altitude. In winter, the cold and snow stand out a lot, with temperatures below 0 degrees being very common. Summer is mild with highs that rarely exceed 30 degrees.

Average climate parameters of Andorra La Vieja (Roc de Sant Pere), elevation 1075 m. n. (1971-2000)
Month	Ene.	Feb.	Mar.	Open up.	May.	Jun.	Jul.	Ago.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Annual
Average temperature (°C)	6.9	8.9	11.7	13.3	17.6	21.9	26.2	25.4	21.4	16.0	10.7	7.5	15.6
Average temperature (°C)	2.2	3.5	5.8	7.5	11.5	15.4	18.8	18.5	14.9	10.3	5.7	3.0	9.8
Temp. medium (°C)	-2.5	-1.8	-0.2	1.7	5.3	8.8	11.4	11.4	8.5	4.7	0.6	-1.4	3.9
Total precipitation (mm)	53.1	37.9	40.5	71.2	89.8	84.2	60.7	85.6	80.9	72.4	68.4	67.9	812.3
Source: ACDA

Administration

List of major consuls of Andorra la Vella:

Tourism

Pre-Roman Church of Santa Coloma.

Buildings and monuments

• Casa de la Vall. One of the most emblematic buildings in the city, is a century-old buildingXVI currently serving the Consell General (Andorean parking) since 1702.
• Church of San Esteban. The parish church that preserves the Romanesque atrium and bell tower of the centuryXI. The rest are remodellings made later, the most significant, in the 1940s by the modernist architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch.
• Church of Santa Coloma. Pre-Romantic building located south of the parish, in Santa Coloma de Andorra. It has a circular bell tower.
• Pont de la Margineda. Romanesque bridge crossing the Valira River. Located to the north, in the old village of La Margineda – practically bordering the parish of San Julián de Loria – this is the largest medieval bridge in the Principality.
• Castle and church of Sant Vicenç d'Enclar. Located 1.126 metres above Santa Coloma de Andorra. Medieval complex, formerly fortified, which rose on Roman buildings between the seventh and eighth centuries.
• Antigua Clínica Vilanova

Economy

The main source of income is tourism, as well as commerce and the banking system in which taxes were not paid (since there is now a new tax called ISI of 4%), a factor that favors foreign investment. Consumer goods such as furniture, tobacco and cognac are also produced.

Transportation

The Andorra-La Seu airport serves as the country's main air connection, located in the province of Lleida just 30 kilometers from the city. The main international airports are in Toulouse, Girona, Perpignan and Barcelona.

Andorra does not have a train station, although there are bus services that connect the city with the train stations of Puigcerdá and the Estación de Lérida Pirineos in Spanish territory, as well as L'Hospitalet-près-l&# 39;Andorre in France, which has long-distance services to Paris and regional services with Barcelona.

Culture

Main cultural facilities

The Teatre Comunal, created in 1992 after the renovation of the old cinema in Les Valls, is the main scenic area of the town. Located right in the center, it has capacity for about 250 spectators. It has a stable program of theatre, dance and music. More recently, the La Llacuna Cultural Center was inaugurated, which houses the Institut de Música i Dansa.

Cultural events

• Music season i dansa. Annual show of music and dance held since 1994.
• Dijous rock. Cycle of concerts for the promotion of the Andorran rock groups, which is held annually during the summer months (Julio-agosto).
• International Festival of Payasas. Biannual event held since 2001.

Traditional festivals

• January 17, San Antonio holidays
• 15-16 April, Cantos de caramellas.
• 15-16 June, Festival Mayor del barrio del Puial
• First weekend of August, Festival Mayor de Andorra la Vieja
• 10-12 December, Fair of Saint Lucia

Twin cities

• Foix (Ariège, France)
• Lima, Peru
• Bogotá, Colombia.
• San Pol de Mar (Barcelona, Spain)
• Valls (Tarragona, Spain).

Predecessor: Guatemala City

Ibero-American Capital of Culture 2016

Successor: Lisbon

Sports

• 

  Estadio Comunal de Andorra la Vieja

Main sports venues

• Estadio Comunal de Andorra la Vieja. Stadium located in the avenue of Salou with capacity for 850 spectators. It has a field of natural grass for the practice of football, as well as a track of athleticism of six tracks, and areas for the leap of length and height and the release of weight, disk and javelin. Annex is a covered pavilion and an outdoor sports track, where basketball, basketball and hockey are practiced, among other sports. Managed by the Comú de Andorra (municipal).
• Polideportivo de Andorra. Pavilion with multi-sport track of floating parquet, with capacity for 4,000 spectators. Headquarters of the selection of futsal of Andorra and the Bàsquet Club Andorra. Managed by the Government of Andorra.
• Centre Esportiu dels Serradells. Complex of municipal ownership located on the road of Comella. It was built in 1991, on the occasion of the Games of the Small States of Europe. It has multiple facilities such as tennis and squash courts, swimming pools, sports court, etc.
• National Stadium of Andorra the largest stadium in Andorra

Sporting events

Andorra la Vella hosted a large part of the events of the Games of the Small States of Europe held in the Principality in 1991 and 2005.

The city was one of the candidates for the 2010 Winter Olympics, which were ultimately awarded to the Canadian city of Vancouver.

Since 2007 the FIS approved the ski slope: "L'avet" (Soldeu station) to hold a women's world cup in giant slalom alpine skiing in 2011.

Embassies and Consulates

Andorra la Vella is the capital of the Principality of Andorra, and for this reason it has several embassies and consulates (mostly honorary) from various countries around the world. Here are some of them:

• Embassy and Consulate General of Spain
• French Embassy and Consulate General
• Honorary Consulate of Germany
• Honorary Consulate of Chile
• Honorary Consulate of Slovakia
• Estonian Honorary Consulate
• Honorary Consulate of Italy
• Honorary Consulate of Poland
• Honorary Consulate of Portugal
• United Kingdom Honorary Consulate
• Russian Honorary Consulate
• Honorary Consulate of Switzerland

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