Showing posts with label Andorra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Andorra. Show all posts

March 14 – Constitution Day in Andorra

Posted on March 14, 2017

Many of us in the United States realize how very important our Constitution is. It lays out some really crucial parts of our government - including three separate branches, checks and balances so that none of the branches can be dictatorial, separation of church and state, the rule of law, and many of the individual rights and freedoms we most cherish. The U.S. Constitution even has the crucial ability to grow and change with the times.

One thing that is interesting is that many of these features have been adopted by other, newer republics. The influence of the U.S. Constitution can be seen in similarities of phrasing and even entire passages as well as in similar ideas. Of course many nations choose a more centralized form of government like that of the United Kingdom - the Prime Minister is basically chosen from the majority party at parliament, so the executive branch and legislative branch are not actually separate. 

Capital of Andorra, Andorra la Vella
Andorra's constitution is not all that similar to the U.S. Constitution. It has a lot of likenesses, such as guarantees of freedom of speech and freedom of religion, but Andorra is a principality, and the heads of state are two "co-princes." When I hear the word "prince," I assume it's a hereditary post handed down within a royal family - but in this case, Andorra's two princes are (1) whoever has been elected as President of France, and (2) the Bishop of Urgell, who is a high-ranking priest in the Catholic religion!

It turns out that the co-princes have only limited powers. So in that way they are like modern royalty - Queen Elizabeth II has little political power in the U.K., for example. The head of the government - the person with most of the executive power - is called "Head of Government" (how practical!) and acts like a Prime Minister does.

In addition to the co-princes and the Head of Government, Andorra has a parliament - the folks who make the laws - called the General Council of the Valleys.

Andorra is the only nation in the world with co-princes. It's special in other ways, too - it's really mountainous, it is known as a tax haven and therefore a great place to buy stuff, it's really mountainous, and it has been at peace for basically 1,000 years. (Technically, it was part of the Allies, declaring war on Nazi Germany during WWII, but given the tiny size of the nation, its lack of resources, and its location high in the Pyrenees Mountains, there was no "action" there!)



Did I mention that it is really mountainous in Andorra? LOVE IT!






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September 8 – National Day in Andorra

Posted on September 8, 2016

Our Lady of Meritxell is a statue of the patron saint of Andorra. According to legend, people found the statue under a blooming rosebush, long, long ago. They took the statue to the nearest church, the legend goes on – but the next morning it was found again under the bush! So the people called it a miracle and built a new chapel out there in the spot where the statue had been found.

Unfortunately, the original chapel burned down – and the statue with it! So replicas of the chapel and of the statue were carefully created.

The Saint Day for Our Lady of Meritxell serves as the National Day for Andorra.

For those of you asking where in the world Andorra is:



It's squished in between Spain and France, in the Pyrenees Mountains.

Andorra is a tiny country, a principality. But even though Andorra is smaller than the cities of Chicago or Los Angeles, it is only the sixth smallest nation in Europe! (Let's face it, Europe has several principalities and other sorts of “micro-states.”)

It's also a really old country. The principality was formed in 1278 – more than 700 years ago! Some nations that are younger than Andorra include the United Kingdom, Canada, Switzerland, the United States, Spain, Australia, Italy, Germany, Mexico, Monaco...well—most of the countries that exist today are younger than Andorra! (Depending on your definition of “country,” San Marino, Japan, China, France, Iran, Austria, Denmark, Hungary, Thailand, Portugal, and Mongolia could claim to be older than Andorra.)

What do you do when you have a teensy, old nation tucked away high in the mountains? If you are Andorran, you probably speak Catalan, you quite possibly provide tourism services, maybe in ski resorts or duty-free shops, and you likely live a long, healthy life.* (See NOTEs below.)

Here are some things that tourists can enjoy in Andorra – along with ten MILLION other visitors every year:

  • Hiking




  • Hot Springs and Spas



  • Skiing


  • Duty-free shopping


    *  NOTE: Although Spanish, Portuguese, and French are commonly spoken in Andorra, Catalan is the nation's official language.

    Tourism is by far the largest part of Andorra's economy, accounting for about 80% of its Gross Domestic Product.

    And Andorrans have the highest life expectancy in the world, 81 years.


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November 4 – St. Charles Day in Andorra

Posted on November 4, 2015

Today is the Feast Day of the Catholic Saint Charles Borromeu.

Now, I couldn't seem to figure out why this saint is celebrated with a bank holiday in Andorra, since he lived in Milan (in what is now Italy), and he is considered the patron saint of a city in Brazil, a city in Italy, and a city in California, U.S.A.

No special connection, that I could find, with Andorra! And it's not as if Andorra is a newcomer to the list of nations (like Italy, which became a unified country in 1861) – Andorra has been Andorra since the year 1278!

I also couldn't see any details on how Andorrans celebrate the day (other than closing the banks). Still, since the time I briefly visited Andorra last summer, I been wanting a chance to talk about this nation.

The darker yellow dot on the border between
SPAIN (light yellow) and FRANCE (green),
marked "AND.," is Andorra.


  
First, Andorra is really tiny. We often speak of nations or countries as “states,” and Andorra is referred to as a microstate. It is 179th in the world, as far as size goes – far smaller than the smallest U.S. state, Rhode Island, and smaller even than Los Angeles, New York City, or Chicago!

It's a bit less than 181 square miles in area. That translates to almost 468 square kilometers.



Another thing about Andorra is that it is quite high in altitude, and really mountainous. It is perched in the Pyrenees mountains, in between Spain and France. The capital of Andorra, which is Andorra la Vella (which means “Andorra the Old”), is the highest capital city in the world.

This photo of the Tour de France
shows you how twisty-turny the road from
France to Andorra is...
When my husband and I drove through Andorra, on our way to Spain from France, we took a steep and winding road up, up, up into the mountains. Visibility was pretty terrible – we seemed to be driving through clouds! – but that didn't scare me, because so many people were traveling up that road ahead of us, we were going reeeeeaaaaaaalllllllllllllllllyy slowly!

Sometimes Andorra gets a LOT of snow!

The last point I want to make about Andorra is that its economy is dominated by tourism (including skiing) and being a tax haven. The latter was really obvious as we reached the border of France and crossed into Andorra. Suddenly ALL of the cars on the road stopped at gas stations and shops strung out along the road, right by the border. It turns out that people often come from France to Andorra to buy things at a much cheaper price, tax and duty free!

Andorra is special in several ways:

  • Andorra has the longest life expectancy of any nation: an average of 81 years.

  • It is the only nation in the world whose official language is Catalan. Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Portuguese are also commonly spoken.

  • It is also the only nation in the world whose head of state is a president democratically elected by another nation!

    That last one is weird, so let me explain: Andorra is a “co-principality,” which means that the “heads of state” are two princes. One “prince” is the democratically elected president of France, and the other “prince” is the Spanish Roman Catholic Bishop of Urgell. Of course, these positions are just formal figureheads without the power to rule Andorra.

    Andorra is actually governed by a democratically elected parliament and a Head of Government, chosen from the ruling party of parliament.


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