A Morsel of Spain in France

     Llivia, Oh Llivia; it sounds like the beginning of a song doesn't it? But no, it's much more interesting than that; it's a little known morsel of Spain that lies within France. This small town of around a thousand people and thirteen square kilometres is surrounded by its very own international border. No, I'm not going stark raving mad; it really exists and is a Spanish enclave within France. The town's umbilical chord is a small, one kilometre road which allows access to the main body of Spain.

     Some of the more astute amongst you will now be asking 'If there's only a thousand folk living there, why is it a town and not a village?' Well, there lies the problem if you're French, and the right to the territory if you're Spanish. You see, Llivia was once the capital of a region called Cerdanya, which today would cover areas in both France and Spain, and in 1528 Carlos V, for mainly historical reasons, officially granted the title of 'town' to the happy citizens of Llivia. This decision became more important a century later, when Spain and France signed the Treaty of Versailles. The two countries had been bickering for years about their shared border, and this treaty said that the new border would follow the crest of the Pyrenees., which meant that Llivia would be in France. However, the treaty also declared that all the villages north of the border would go to France. So far so good, until someone pointed out that Llivia wasn't a village, but a town, so would remain in Spanish hands.

      That's it then, all settled...wasn't it? Well, no. Carlos' decision has been hotly disputed ever since the Treaty of Versailles. 45 stone border markers ring Llivia, but that hasn't stopped small pieces of land passing between the two countries following various court battles. One fiercely contested area of land is the strip of road that connects Llivia to Spain, which was supposed to carry a neutral status. The problem was exacerbated by a French road that intersected the said road. The citizens of each country had resolved to ignore the others' stop signs, which made for a few interesting 'coming togethers'. Eventually a solution was reached by the building of an overpass, which was paid for by the Spanish. A roundabout was also added at another intersection.

     So what's the main language in Llivia? Go on, have a guess...go on. To all those who said Spanish, I have to say 'good guess, but try again'. And before you lot who cried French get all cocky like, I say to you too 'good, but not right'. It is in fact Catalan, so is Llivia an enclave of Spain or Catalonia? Hey, I'm only asking the questions. Catalonia is one of seventeen autonomous communities within Spain. It has its own government and police force, so you decide.

      Today, Llivia is the only place I can think of, which attracts tourists to look at white painted stones lying in a patch of grass. It also holds a music festival every August, and has a museum which houses the oldest pharmacy in Europe. If you like winter sports, there are ski resorts nearby. Personally, I'd go for the stones.