42°30′N1°58′E / 42.500°N 1.967°E / 42.500; 1.967French Cerdagne (Catalan: Alta Cerdanya, IPA:[ˈaltəsəɾˈðaɲə]) 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 a part of Catalonia). Catalans often refer to French Cerdagne as Upper Cerdanya (Catalan: Alta 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.[1][2][3] 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 (highlighted) on a map of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in France.Map of Catalonia and the historical comarques.
French Cerdagne has no special status inside France, simply forming a physiographic region 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). The area has the most cloud-free days in France, [citation needed] 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 Cherenkov telescope for the detection of Gamma rays.[4]
^Peter Sahlins (1989). Boundaries: The Making of France and Spain in the Pyrenees. University of California Press. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-520-91121-5.
^Paul Wilstach (1931). Along the Pyrenees. Robert M. McBride Company. p. 102.
^James Erskine Murray (1837). A Summer in the Pyrenees. J. Macrone. p. 92.
^The Themis program and the 2500-kW Themis solar power station at Targasonne, Harvard.edu. Accessed 5 March 2024.
France, the French area is referred to as either Cerdagne française (i.e. "FrenchCerdagne"), Haute-Cerdagne (i.e. "Upper Cerdagne") or just Cerdagne...
large-scale solar power projects have been built in several locations in FrenchCerdagne, including Font-Romeu-Odeillo-Via, the Themis plant near Targassonne...
region, as well as Andorra, Gibraltar, and a small part of Southern France (FrenchCerdagne). With an area of approximately 583,254 square kilometres (225...
by French-speakers), corresponding roughly to the present-day southern French département of Pyrénées-Orientales (with Roussillon, Upper Cerdagne, Capcir...
Southern Europe South-western Europe 583,256 225,196 Andorra France (FrenchCerdagne) Gibraltar (United Kingdom) Portugal (mainland) Spain (mainland)...
including Roussillon, Conflent, Vallespir, Capcir, and FrenchCerdagne, was transferred to France, i.e. what later came to be known as "Northern Catalonia"...
the Roussillon, and part of the Cerdanya (French Cerdagne). Most important to the Portuguese, the French recognised Philip IV of Spain as the legitimate...
The Ligne de Cerdagne, usually referred to as Le Petit Train Jaune (English: Little Yellow Train, Catalan: Tren Groc), is a 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) gauge...
Roussillon, though, historically did not comprise Vallespir, Conflent and Cerdagne (Cerdanya). The terms Pays Catalan (País Català), "Catalan Country" are...
Navarra, Count of Barcelona, Roussillon and Cerdagne"). Roussillon and Cerdagne were later ceded to France by Spain, but were merged directly into the...
between states, and thus in 1803, the 24 parishes of FrenchCerdagne, which had been ceded to France from the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, also passed...
Conflent, Vallespir and part of la Cerdanya, now known as FrenchCerdagne, were ceded to France. The town of Llívia remained part of Spain, however, an...
the Peace of the Pyrenees, which added to French territory Roussillon and northern Cerdanya—as FrenchCerdagne—in the far south as well as part of the Low...
among Catalan society, and the Catalans' ally France annexed Roussillon (also known as FrenchCerdagne or Northern Catalonia) as a result of the war....
between the high valleys of Aude and both the Spanish Cerdanya and FrenchCerdagne. It has traditionally been rural, but has developed considerably in...
Nîmes, Arles, Glanum, aqueducts, via Domitia Le chemin de fer de Cerdagne, 2002. Cerdagne railway Office National d'Études et de Recherches Aérospatiales...
Montalegre. The eastern part of the Pyrenean mountains in the south of France (Cerdagne). In the Northern Apennines of Italy, Mediterranean city La Spezia...
Migueletes de Olot y Camprodón. He took part in the occupation of FrenchCerdagne under General Cuesta, where he was seriously wounded and rewarded for...
smaller than it is today, and numerous border provinces (such as Roussillon, Cerdagne, Calais, Béarn, Navarre, County of Foix, Flanders, Artois, Lorraine, Alsace...
Pic Petit de Segre or Puigmal Petit del Segre is a mountain of Catalonia, France and Spain. Located in the Pyrenees, it has an elevation of 2,810 metres...
səɾˈðaɲə]; Latin: Comitatus Ceritaniae; Spanish: Condado de Cerdaña, French: Comté de Cerdagne) was one of the Catalan counties formed in the last decades of...
Antonio Ricardos began the invasion of France when he descended on Saint-Laurent-de-Cerdans in the FrenchCerdagne with 4500 Spanish troops. The six battalions...
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