Alt Pirineu i Aran
(in

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

Vegueria de l'Alt Pirineu i Aran) is one of the seven

vegueries The ''vegueria'' (; pl. ''vegueries'') was the feudal administrative territorial jurisdiction of the Principality of Catalonia (to the Crown of Aragon) during the Middle Ages and into the Modern Era until the Nueva Planta decrees of 1716. Th ...

(territories) defined by the Regional Plan of

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

. It is located in the

High

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

(in

''Alt Pirineu''). It is formed by six ''comarques'' (roughly equivalent to a county): Alt Urgell,

Alta Ribagorça Alta Ribagorça () is one of the comarques of Catalonia, Spain. Its capital is Pont de Suert. The highest peak is the Comaloformo (3030 metres above sea level) in the massif of Bessiberri. Northeast of the region is the western part of the Ai ...

Baixa Cerdanya Cerdanya (; es, Baja Cerdaña, ; french: Basse-Cerdagne, ) is a ''comarca'' in northern Catalonia, in the Pyrenees, on the border of Catalonia with France and Andorra. Within Catalonia, Cerdanya is divided between Catalan provinces of Girona and ...

Pallars Jussà Pallars Jussà () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. It was established as a ''comarca'' in 1936, out of the old county of Pallars. The name means "Lower Pallars"; to the northeast and into the mountains is Pallars Sobirà. Its capital a ...

Pallars Sobirà Pallars Sobirà () is a comarca (comparable to a county or shire in much of the English-speaking world) in the mountainous northwest of Catalonia, Spain. The name means "Upper Pallars", distinguishing it from the more populous (and less mountain ...

and

Val d'Aran Aran (; ; ) (previously officially called in Occitan Val d'Aran, Catalan: ''Vall d'Aran'', Spanish: ''Valle de Arán'') is an administrative entity (formerly considered a comarca) in Lleida, Catalonia, Spain, consisting of the Aran Valley, in ...

. Val d'Aran has an autonomous government called

Conselh Generau d'Aran The General Council of Aran (in Aranese ''Conselh Generau d'Aran'') is the autonomous governing body of the region (unofficially considered a ''comarca'') of Val d'Aran in Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha' ...

. The veguerie of Alt Pirineu i Aran is the largest territory, with 18% of Catalonia's total surface area, but the one with the least population (69,335 inhabitants), with a density of 12.2 inhabitants/km² (31.5/mi²). Mapa poblacions Alt Pirineu i Aran

Espais d'interés natural de l'Alt Pirineu i Aran

Veguerie

The Veguerie (Vegueria in Catalan) was an important feudal land division in the Principality of Catalonia, the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...

, and the

Duchy of Athens The Duchy of Athens (Greek: Δουκᾶτον Ἀθηνῶν, ''Doukaton Athinon''; Catalan: ''Ducat d'Atenes'') was one of the Crusader states set up in Greece after the conquest of the Byzantine Empire during the Fourth Crusade as part of th ...

during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

until the Nueva Planta decrees of 1716. It was the primary division of a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in Catalonia and the basic territorial unit of government in Sardinia and Athens after those countries became part of the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of ...

. The office of a veguer was called a ''vigeriate'' (Latin: ''vigeriatus''). In 1936, Catalonia was reconstituted into ''comarques''. Although these were quickly abolished in 1939 they were reconstituted again in 1987. Each ''comarca'' was grouped with two to four others into a veguerie, of which there were nine, with their capitals at

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capital ...

Tremp Tremp () is a municipality in Catalonia, Spain, the capital of the ''comarca'' of the Pallars Jussà. It is the largest municipality in Catalonia in terms of area (),The municipality of Tortosa is historically larger than Tremp, but was subdivid ...

, Vic, Manresa, Lleida,

Reus Reus () is the capital of Baix Camp, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The area has always been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental importance at the time of the Phylloxera plague. Nowadays it is kno ...

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tarr ...

, and

Tortosa Tortosa (; ) is the capital of the '' comarca'' of Baix Ebre, in Catalonia, Spain. Tortosa is located at above sea level, by the Ebro river, protected on its northern side by the mountains of the Cardó Massif, of which Buinaca, one of the hig ...

. Since the 1987 reconstitution it has been decided that Vegueries will be formally re-established in 2011. Under the 2006

Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia The Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006 ( ca, Estatut d’Autonomia de Catalunya) provides Catalonia's basic institutional regulations under the Spanish Constitution of 1978. It defines the rights and obligations of the citizens of Cataloni ...

, the four

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

which make up Catalonia are due to be replaced by seven vegueries, which will also take over many of the functions of the ''comarques''. As of October 2008, the final boundaries of the new vegueries have yet to be formally approved, they are expected to incorporate largely historical boundaries: Àmbit metropolità de Barcelona, Alt Pirineu i Aran, Camp de Tarragona,

Comarques Centrals Comarques Centrals is one of the seven territories defined by the Regional Plan of Catalonia. It is located in the central part of Catalonia and will be formed by five comarques: Anoia, Bages, Berguedà, Osona, Solsonès and Moianès Moianès () ...

, Comarques Gironines, Ponent or Lleida,

Terres de l'Ebre Terres de l'Ebre (, literally in English 'The Ebre Lands') is one of the seven territories defined by the Regional Plan of Catalonia. It is located in the south-west of Catalonia, in the southern part of river Ebre, and will be formed by four co ...

References

{{coord, 42, 23, 50, N, 1, 19, 26, E, region:ES-CT_type:adm2nd_source:kolossus-cawiki, display=title Geography of Catalonia Functional territorial sections of Catalonia