Andorra, Cool Facts #184

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1. Flag of Andorra

- The Flag of Andorras is unique as it refers to three different states
- Blue represents France
- Yellow represents Vatican City
- Red represents Spain

Coat-of-arms
- Virtus Unita Fortior "United virtue is stronger" is written in the coat-of-arms
- Top left = arms of the Bishop of Urgell
- Top right = arms of the County of Foix
- Bottom left = arms of Catalonia
- Bottom right = arms of the Viscounts of Béarn 

Andorra's coat-of-arms

2. Parliamentary Co-Principality  

- Andorra is very unique, because its both a republic and a principality at the same time 
- The two Co-Princes of Andorra are the President of France and the Roman Catholic Bishop of Urgell
- The President of France is the Prince of Andorra, an elected reigning monarch although the president isn't elected by popular vote of the Andorra people 
- Currently (May, 2017) Joan Enric Vives i Sicilia and Emmanuel Macron are the two Co-Princes of Andorra 
- In 1793 the French revolutionary government ended the protection agreement with Andorra, which made the Andorrans to fear drifting under the influence of Spain 
- In 1806 Napoleon restored the agreement of Lerida in 1278 and since then Andorra's independence has been backed by the Spanish Bishop of Urgell and the President or head of state of France 

Co-Princess of Andorra Sicilia (left) and Macron (right)

3. Catalan Official Language in Andorra 

- Andorra is the only country, where Catalan is the official language
- Spanish, French and Portuguese are recognized languages in Andorra
- English is less commonly spoken, but it's understood to varying degrees in major tourist spots
- Andorra television and radio stations use Catalan

Linguistic usage of Andorra in 2005 according to Obsevatori Social d'Andorra:

Catalan 38,8%
Spanish 35,4%
Portuguese 15%
French 5,4%
Other 5,5%

Catalan speaking areas in grey

4. Revolution of 1881 

- In 1880 the authorities of the Co-Princes banned casinos and betting houses throughout the country
- This started the Revolution of 1881 or Troubles of Andorra
- On December 8, 1880 the revolutionaries assaulted the house of the syndic and established the Provisional Revolutionary Council
 - The leaders of the Provisional Revolutionary Council granted the construction of casinos and spas to foreign companies
- In June 1881 the the loyalists of Canilo and Encamp reconquered the parishes of Ordino and Massana
- After a day of combat the Treaty of the Bridge of Escalis was signed the 10 of June
- The Council was replaced and new elections were made, but the economic situation worsened with a divided society
- The struggles between pro-French, pro-Bishops and nationalists continued

The Revolutionary Council

5. Adventurer Boris Skossyreff 

- In 1933 France occupied Andorra after social unrest, which occurred before elections
- On 12 July 1934, adventurer Boris Skossyreff declared himelf in Urgell as "Boris I, King of Andorra"
- Skossyreff simultaneously declared war on the Bishop of Urgell
- On 20 July 1934, Skossyreff was arrested by Spanish authorities and expelled to Portugal

- Some sources claim that Skossyreff died in a Vichy French prison camp and others claim that he survived and that he became a civilian technician for the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front in World War II
- Boris Skossyreff was a White Russian, who was born in Vilnius in 1896 in the Russian Empire 
- A novel has been written of Skossyreff in 1984 by Catalan author Antoni Morell i Mora, with the title Boris I, Rei d'Andorra

Boris Skossyreff

Timeline

6640BC A group of humans moved to the Valley of Madriu as a permanent camp
400s After the fall of the Roman Empire Andorra was under Visigoth influence for the next 200 years
839 First document that mentions Andorra as a territory
988 Count of Urgell gave the Andorran valleys to the Diocese of Urgell in exchange for land in Cerdanya
1095 Lord of Caboet and Bishop of Urgell signed under oath a declaration of their co-sovereignty over Andorra
1212 The rulers of the Count of Foix became the inheritors of the County of Urgell through a marriage
1278 Andorra's sovereignty was decided to be shared between the counts of Foix and Urgell
1419 General Council of the Valleys, the second oldest parliament in Europe was established
1607 King Henry IV of France issued an edict, that established the ruler of France and the Bishop of Urgell as Co-Princes of Andorra
1793 During the French Revolution the Co-Principate and protection agreement was ended
1806 Napoleon re-established the Co-Principate and the same year Andorra got its own flag
1866 The aristocratic oligarchy that previously ruled the country was replaced by the reformist group and the same year Andorra got a new flag
1880s Troubles of Andorra 

1910s Andorra declared war on Imperial Germany, but didn't take part in the fighting 

1933 France occupied Andorra following social unrest which occurred before elections
1940s Andorra remained neutral in World War II
1958 Peace treaty with Germany was made, because Andorra was accidentally left outside of the Versailles Peace Treaty, which meant that Andorra remained in an official state of belligerency with Germany until this point 

1970 Women got the right to vote in Andorra
1993 Andorra became a UN and EU member and the country got a new constitution 

Sources: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andorra
"Maailman maat - liput ja historia" by Kimmo Kiljunen