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Tourist Places in Andorra la Vella |
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| Thursday, 03 April 2008 | |
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Page 1 of 2 Photo Gallery | Hotels | View Map Back to Tourist Place in Andorra History of Andorra la Vella
The capital of the principality, Andorra la Vella (alt. 1,029 m/3,376 m; pop. 23,000), is finely situated on the Gran Valira river under the east side of the Pic d'Enclar (2,317 m/7,602ft). In the center of Andorra la Vella is a plain building of undressed stone built about 1580 which originally belonged to a noble Andorran family and is now the seat of the government, with the courtroom and the meeting place of the Consell General. Over the entrance of Casa de la Vell are the arms of the principality (1761), with the mitre and crosier of the bishop of Urgell, the four pales of Catalonia, the three pales of the Counts of Foix and the two oxen of the Counts of Béarn in its four quarters. The reception room on the first floor has 16th century wall paintings. In the council chamber (Sala de Sessions) is the "cupboard of the seven keys", to which each of the seven communes has a key. It contains the archives of the principality, including documents which are said to date from the time of Charlemagne and Louis the Pious. Before every meeting of the Council the councillors attend a service in the Capilla Sant Ermengol. The large kitchen with its old utensils gives an impression of domestic life in the 16th century. On the right of the main road to Spain, in the little village of Santa Coloma, is a fine Romanesque church with a round three-stage tower very different from others in the principality. It contains a much venerated 12th century statue of the Virgin of Coloma. On the arched entrance are Mozarabic frescoes. The church has a notable medieval font. Above the village is the 12th century castle of Sant Vicenç, built by Roger Bernat, Count of Foix. The road continues past another medieval bridge, the Pont de la Margineda, to Sant Julia de Lòria (alt. 939 m/3,081ft), from which a narrow road winds its way up to the church of Sant Cerní de Nagol, which has fine Romanesque frescoes. The church of Sant Julià de Lòria has a Romanesque bell-tower, a figure of the Virgin of the same period and a 17th century crucifix. The museum displays vintage cars and antique motorcycles and bicycles.
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| Last Updated ( Saturday, 10 May 2008 ) | |