Andorra is a small landlocked country in western Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by France and Spain. The total area of the country is 468 km2. The highest point is the peak of Comapedrosa at 2,942 m, and the lowest point is the frontier post with Catalonia, at 838 m. Andorra has the mountainous and abrupt relief typical of high mountain areas.The lands of the Principality of Andorra are organised in seven administrative and territorial divisions known as "parishes": Canillo, Encamp, Andorra la Vella, Ordino, la Massana, Sant Julià de Lòria i Escaldes-Engordany. The parishes are managed by the communes.Brief story About Andorra: Legend tells that Charlemagne founded Andorra in 805 in recognition of aid given by its inhabitants against the Saracens. Tradition holds that Charles the Great (Charlemagne) granted a charter to Andorran people in return for their fighting the Moors. Overlordship of the territory passed to the local count of Urgell and eventually to the bishop of the diocese of Urgell. In the eleventh century a dispute arose between the bishop and his northern neighbour over Andorra.
Between the 9th and 10th centuries, the Andorran valleys belonged to the counts of Urgell, who ceded them to the See of Urgell in 988 in exchange for other possessions in the Cerdanya, although it was not until the 12th century that Andorrans recognised the sovereignty of the See of Urgell in an agreement signed with the bishop Bernat Sanç in 1176. in the 13th century was a time of bitter struggle between the counts of Foix and the See of Urgell to reduce the rights of the bishops over Andorra.
Between the 9th and 10th centuries, the Andorran valleys belonged to the counts of Urgell, who ceded them to the See of Urgell in 988 in exchange for other possessions in the Cerdanya, although it was not until the 12th century that Andorrans recognised the sovereignty of the See of Urgell in an agreement signed with the bishop Bernat Sanç in 1176. in the 13th century was a time of bitter struggle between the counts of Foix and the See of Urgell to reduce the rights of the bishops over Andorra.
Hostilities came to an end with the signature of two arbitration judgements, known as the Pariatges, signed in 1278-1288 between the bishop of Urgell, Pere d’Urg, and the count of Foix, Roger Bernat III. The Pariatges establish the co-sovereignty of the bishop of Urgell and the count of Foix over Andorra: thus bringing the Principality of Andorra into existence.During the 15th century the counts of Foix became the rulers of Navarre and in 1589 Henry, king of Navarre and count of Foix, viscount of Béarn and lord of Andorra, became king of France, so that the rights of co-lordship over Andorra, which A belonged to the counts of Foix, passed to the crown of France.
In 1793, due to the feudal origin of the bonds uniting Andorra with France, the French republicans refused to maintain relations with the Andorrans and receive their tribute. In 1806, Napoleon re-established the feudal tradition and the French rights of co-lordship over the Principality of Andorra.In 1419 creation first parliamentary form, when representatives from all the parishes met together to deal with the problems of the community, and right up to the present day, the Andorrans have not ceased to move forward in modernising and updating their institutions. In the second half of the 19th century, the so-called New Reform brought substantial changes in the fields of politics and administration; the right to vote was given to all heads of houses and the power of the General Council was increased. In 1981, with the creation of the Executive Council, the most recent and decisive reforms in the Principality of Andorra began; they would culminate in the desire of the Andorrans to have a written Constitution.The process ended on 14 March 1993, with the first written Constitution of Andorra, which transformed the Principality into an independent state of law, democratic and social, with a new definition of the competences attributed to the institutions. See and visit to Andorra
