Puigcerdà

Puigcerdà
Municipality

Casa de la Vila, the city hall

Flag

Coat of arms
Puigcerdà

Location in Catalonia

Coordinates: 42°25′54″N 1°55′42″E / 42.43167°N 1.92833°E / 42.43167; 1.92833
Country  Spain
Autonomous community  Catalonia
Province Girona
Comarca Baixa Cerdanya
Government
  Mayor Albert Piñeira Brosel (2015)[1]
Area[2]
  Total 18.9 km2 (7.3 sq mi)
Elevation 1,202 m (3,944 ft)
Population (2014)[1]
  Total 8,761
  Density 460/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Puigcerdanenc
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
  Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Website puigcerda.cat

Puigcerdà (Catalan pronunciation: [ˌputʃsərˈða], informally: [ˌputʃərˈða], locally: [ˌpujsərˈða]) is the capital of the Catalan comarca of Cerdanya, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, northern Spain, near the river Segre and on the border with France (it abuts directly onto the French town of Bourg-Madame).

History

Puigcerdà is located near the site of a Ceretani settlement, which was incorporated into Roman territory. The Roman town was named Julia Libyca.

Puigcerdà was founded in 1178 by King Alfonso I of Aragon, Count of Barcelona. In 1178 Puigcerdà replaced Hix as the capital of Cerdanya. Hix is now a village in the commune of Bourg-Madame, in the French part of Cerdagne.

Puigcerdà was unique during the Spanish Civil War in having a democratically elected Anarchist council.

The Portet-Saint-Simon–Puigcerdà railway was opened in 1929, crossing the Pyrenees to France.

Main sights

Notable people

References

External links

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This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, December 01, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.