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Location:
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Andorra is a small landlocked principality in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by France and Spain.
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Area:
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468 km² 181 sq mi
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Border Countries:
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France and Spain. (landlocked)
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Capital City:
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Andorra la Vella
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Main Cities:
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Andorra la Vella, Ordina, Canillo, La Massanna, Encamp, Escaldes-Engordany, Sant Julia de Loria
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Population:
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67,313
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Currency:
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Euro (EUR)
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Languages:
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The only official language is Catalan; also French, Castilian, Portuguese.
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Religions:
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Roman Catholic (predominant)
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The flag of Andorra: The national flag of the Principality of Andorra was adopted in 1866. The flag is a tricolor of blue, yellow, and red with the coat of arms of Andorra in the center. The flag of Andorra is based on the flags of France and Spain, the two states that protect the independence of the miniature state on the tops of the Pyrenees. The design of vertical bars is taken from the French Tricolore, as is the blue and red. Yellow and red are taken from the Spanish and Catalan flags. The motto in the coat of arms in the middle stripe Virtus Unita Fortior means Strength United is Stronger.
The Principality of Andorra (Catalan: Principat d'Andorra, French: Principauté d'Andorre, Spanish: Principado de Andorra) is a small landlocked principality in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by France and Spain. Once isolated, it is currently a prosperous country mainly because of tourism and its status as a tax haven. It has the highest life expectancy in the world, at 83.51 years. Andorra is not to be confused with the comune of Andora in Italy. Andorra has no military force of its own; its defense is the responsibility of Spain and France.
The name "Andorra" is of unknown origin but (according to Joan Coromines) clearly pre-Roman. Many of the local toponyms are of Iberian-Basque origin.
Befitting its location in the eastern Pyrenees mountain range, Andorra consists predominantly of rugged mountains of an average height of 1996 meters with the highest being the Coma Pedrosa at 2946 meters. These are dissected by three narrow valleys in a Y shape that combine into one as the main stream, the Valira river, leaves the country for Spain (at Andorra's lowest point of 870 m). Andorra's climate is similar to its neighbors' temperate climates, but its higher altitude means there is on average more snow in winter and it is slightly cooler in summer.
Andorrans constitute a minority in their own country; only 33% of inhabitants hold Andorran nationality. The largest group of foreign nationals is that of Spaniards (43%), with Portuguese (11%) and French (7%) nationals the other main groups. The remaining 6% belong to several other nationalities. The Current population is estimated at 71,201 (July 2006).
Tradition holds that Charlemagne granted a charter to the 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 11th century a dispute arose between the bishop and his northern French neighbour over Andorra.
In 1278, the conflict was resolved by the signing of a paréage, which provided that Andorra's sovereignty be shared between the French count of Foix (whose title would ultimately transfer to the French head of state) and the bishop of La Seu d'Urgell, in Catalonia, Spain. This gave the small principality its territory and political form.
Over the years the title passed to the kings of Navarre. After Henry of Navarre became King Henry IV of France, he issued an edict (1607) that established the head of the French state and the Bishop of Urgell as co-princes of Andorra.
In the period 1812–13, the French Empire annexed Catalonia and divided it in four departments. Andorra was also annexed and made part of the district of Puigcerdà (département of Sègre).
In 1933 France occupied Andorra as a result of social unrest before elections. On July 12, 1934, an adventurer named Boris Skossyreff issued a proclamation in Urgel, declaring himself Boris I, sovereign prince of Andorra, simultaneously declaring war on the bishop of Urgel. He was arrested by Spanish authorities on July 20 and ultimately expelled from Spain. From 1936 to 1940, a French detachment was garrisoned in Andorra to prevent influences of the Spanish Civil War and Franco's Spain. Francoist troops reached the Andorran border in the later stages of the war.
During World War II, Andorra remained neutral and was an important smuggling route between Vichy France and Spain.
Given its relative isolation, Andorra has existed outside the mainstream of European history, with few ties to countries other than France and Spain. In recent times, however, its thriving tourist industry along with developments in transportation and communications have removed the country from its isolation and its political system was thoroughly modernised in 1993, the year in which it finally became a member of the United Nations.
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The flag is a piece of cloth, often flown from a pole or mast, generally used for signalling or identification. The design of a flag displayed in another form is also referred to as a flag. The first flags were used to assist military coordination on battlefields, and flags have evolved into a general tool for rudimentary signalling and identification, especially in environments where communication is similarly challenging (such as the maritime environment where semaphore is used).
National flags are potent patriotic symbols with varied wide-ranging interpretations, often including strong military associations due to their original and ongoing military uses. Flags are used in messaging or advertising, or for decorative purposes, though at this less formal end the distinction between a flag and a simple cloth banner is blurred. The study of flags is known as vexillology, from the Latin vexillum meaning flag or banner.
Although flag-like symbols have been used by ancient cultures for thousands of years, the origin of flags in the modern sense is a matter of dispute. Some believe flags originated in China, while others hold that the Roman Empire's vexillum was the first true flag. Originally, the standards of the Roman legions were not flags, but symbols like the eagle of Augustus Caesar's Xth legion; this eagle would be placed on a staff for the standard-bearer to hold up during battle. But a military unit from Scythia had for a standard a dragon with a flexible tail which would move in the wind; the legions copied this; eventually all the legions had flexible standards — our modern-day flag.
During the Middle Ages, flags were used mainly during battles to identify individual leaders: in Europe the knights, in Japan the samurai, and in China the generals under the imperial army.
From the time of Christopher Columbus onwards, it has been customary (and later a legal requirement) for ships to carry flags designating their nationality; these flags eventually evolved into the national flags and maritime flags of today. Flags also became the preferred means of communications at sea, resulting in various systems of flag signals; see International maritime signal flags.
Beginning in the 17th century, European knights were replaced by centralized armies, and flags became the means to identify not just nationalities but also individual military units. Flags became much more elaborate, and were seen as objects to be captured or defended. Eventually these flags posed too much danger to those carrying them, and by World War I these were withdrawn from the battlefields, and have since been used only at ceremonial occasions.
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