Puigcerdà

Puigcerdà
Municipality
Casa de la Vila, the city hall

Flag
Coat of arms
Puigcerdà
Location in Catalonia
Puigcerdà
Puigcerdà (Spain)
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] (CiU)
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 UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
Climate Cfb
Website puigcerda.cat

Puigcerdà (Catalan pronunciation: [ˌputʃsəɾˈða]; Spanish: Puigcerdá) is the capital of the Catalan comarca of Cerdanya, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, northern Spain, near the Segre River 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

  • Puigcerdà Pool
  • Torre del Campanar (12th century). It is the last remain of a parish church destroyed in 1936
  • Romanesque church of Sant Tomàs de Ventajola, known from 958
  • Romanesque church of Sant Andreu Vilallobent, dating to the 10th century and later restored
  • Convent of St. Dominic, founded in 1291 and finished in the 15th century
  • Old Hospital (1190), in Romanesque-Gothic style

Notable people

References

  1. 1 2 "Ajuntament de Puigcerdà". Generalitat of Catalonia. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  2. ↑ "El municipi en xifres: Puigcerdà". Statistical Institute of Catalonia. Retrieved 2015-11-23.


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