La Massana

Coordinates: 42°32′40″N 1°30′52″E / 42.54444°N 1.51444°E / 42.54444; 1.51444
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
La Massana
Parish
The towns of La Massana and Ordino
The towns of La Massana and Ordino (in the foreground)
viewed from the peak of Casamanya (2740 m)
UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeAD-04
WebsiteOfficial site

La Massana (Catalan pronunciation:

Principality of Andorra. It is located in the northwest of the country. La Massana is also the name of the main town of the parish. The name Massana derives from the Latin name mattianam for a variety of apple.[2] Other settlements in the parish are Pal, Arinsal, Erts, Sispony, Anyós, L'Aldosa de la Massana, Puiol del Pui, Escàs, Els Plans, Mas de Ribafeta, Xixerella and Pui
.

The parish is extremely mountainous and contains the highest mountain in Andorra, Coma Pedrosa (2,942 m or 9,652 ft). Its western side limits with Tor, Pallars municipal term, in the border with Spain.

Geography

View of the Valleys of Coma Pedrosa.

Physical geography

The parish has an area of 65 square kilometres (25 sq mi), and adjoins the neighbouring parishes of

agricultural land, 14% of the total agricultural land in Andorra.[4]

The main villages are La Massana (the capital city itself),

L'Aldosa, and Escàs. Other settlements are Xixerella
, Mas de Ribafeta, El Pui, and Puiol del Piu.

Medacorba (2914 m), Sanfonts (2888 m), Pla de l'Estany (2859 m), and Racofred (2837 m).[4] The town of La Massana has an average elevation of 1,240 metres (4,070 ft) above sea-level. There are four lakes: Forcats, Montmantell, Estany Negre, and Les Truites Lake.[3]

The parish has three main rivers. The Valira del Nord, which begins at the Llac de Tristaina, is a 14-kilometre (8.7 mi) long tributary of the Gran Valira. There are also the Pal and the Montaner.

The mountains have rough pastures with numerous native species of Pyrenean

wildflowers
, and extensive forests of pines, firs, birches, wild cherries, and oaks.

Climate

The average annual temperature of La Massana town is 8 °C (46 °F).

temperate
.

Economy

A panoramic view from Arinsal of Vallnord.

Tourism

The main industry is tourism and the parish is a major tourism destination. In winter, the main activities are skiing, snowboarding, and ski biking. The main ski resort, Vallnord, includes the Arinsal and Pal sectors, which jointly have 89 km of runs ranging in altitude from 2600 m to 1550 m.[6] In summer, the main activities are hiking, climbing, mountain biking, 4x4 trails, and canyoning.

tobacco plants in Sispony
.

Agriculture

Agricultural land amounting to 262 ha is used for growing tobacco, vegetables (mainly potatoes), and cereals.[4] There are rough pastures on the higher slopes which are used for raising dairy cattle and also for keeping horses used in trekking holidays.[4]

Construction and real estate

The construction industry and real estate have also been significant sectors of the economy.

Sights and culture

There are two museums: Casa Rull Ethnographic Museum in Sispony, and Farga Rossell, a forge built in the mid-19th century which has demonstrations of iron working.

The parish is host to a number of fiestas and other public celebrations. There are the

festa patronale
on 17 November, the festa major on 15 August, and the Rosary fete on the second Sunday of July. A fiesta is also held at the end of June or beginning of July, depending on the weather, to mark the consecration of the livestock and pastures.

Transport

The transport infrastructure consists of roads, road tunnels, gondola lifts, and two heliports. There are no railways, ports, airports, or navigable waterways.

Buses

There are regular bus services throughout the rural and metropolitan areas of the parish. There are services to most destinations inside Andorra and several long-distance services to destinations outside Andorra such as Barcelona and Toulouse.

Road infrastructure

The parish is linked to the neighbouring parish of

Andorra La Vella
, by the CG-3/CG-4 main road.

There are two road tunnels along the route of the CG-3/CG-4: the Pont Pla Tunnel, a 1.3-kilometre (0.8 mi) long tunnel built in 2006, and the Sant Antoni Tunnel, a 280-metre (306 yd) long tunnel built in 2003. The Pont Pla Tunnel has been designated the best and safest tunnel in Europe by the European Tunnels Assessment Programme (EuroTAP).[7]

The parish's road network is being upgraded in a multimillion-euro programme involving new tunnel construction, road widening, improved sign-posting, new bicycle lanes, and additional safety measures such as crash barriers and signal-controlled pedestrian crossings.[8]

The

road tunnel between Anyós and Encamp, was completed in 2012, cutting the expected journey times from the current 30–45 minutes to 5 minutes.[9][10]

Heliports

There are two heliports in the area — one in La Massana town (the Heliport Terra Guindaldes) and one in

Barcelona, Lleida, Perpignan, or Toulouse airports for fixed prices.[12] There is no airport in Andorra. The nearest one is Andorra–La Seu d'Urgell Airport
in Spain around 12 km from the border.

Gondola lifts

There is a gondola lift linking the town of La Massana to Vallnord (Pal-Arinsal sector ski station); it runs throughout the year. There are further gondola lifts within the ski resorts themselves.

Notable people

Maria Ubach i Font, 2018

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Population by parish". Department d'Estadísticas - Govern d'Andorra. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2016.
  2. ^ la Maçana, Situació i presentació, Enciclopèdia Catalana S.A. (1999-2004). (in Catalan)
  3. ^ a b c About Andorra: La Massana Municipality, Comú de la Massana.
  4. ^ a b c d e Parroquia de la Massana, Comú de la Massana. (in Catalan)
  5. ^ a b Atles climàtic de Catalunya. Periode 1961-1990. Servei Meteorològic de Catalunya, Generalitat de Catalunya. (in Catalan)
  6. ^ Ski resort Vallnord.
  7. ^ Euro Geo Tecnica, 2009
  8. ^ RTVA News, 5 August 2009
  9. ^ RTVA News, 22 April 2009
  10. ^ "Diari d'Andorra".
  11. ^ Heliand Serveis (2009). (in Catalan)
  12. ^ Rent a helicopter in Andorra
  13. ISBN 978-99920-0-882-9
    .

External links

Media related to La Massana (parish) at Wikimedia Commons

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