Pheasant Island
Île des Faisans (French)
Isla de los Faisanes (Spanish)
Konpantzia (Basque)
Pheasant Island (center) from the International Bridge over the Bidasoa river. On the left Irun, Spain; on the right Hendaye, France
Pheasant Island's flag for 6 months of the year
Pheasant Island's flag for the other 6 months of the year
Geography
LocationBidasoa
Area0.00682[1] km2 (0.00263 sq mi)
Highest elevation6 m (20 ft)
Administration
Current: France
Spain
Autonomous communityBasque Country
ProvinceGipuzkoa
Demographics
Population0
Louis XIV of France and Philip IV of Spain meeting on Pheasant Island for the Treaty of the Pyrenees.

Pheasant Island (French: Île des Faisans/Île de la Conférence, Spanish: Isla de los Faisanes, Basque: Konpantzia, Faisaien Uhartea Konferentziako Uhartea) is an uninhabited river island located in the Bidasoa river, located between France and Spain, whose administration alternates between the two nations every 6 months.[2]

Etymology

There are no pheasants on the island. The name could be a misinterpretation of some French word related to "passing" or "toll".[3] The "Conference" name could come from the international meetings held there.

History

The island as seen from the Spanish side

The most important historical event to have taken place on the island was the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees. This was the climax to a series of 24 conferences held between Luis Méndez de Haro, a grandee of Spain, and Cardinal Mazarin, Chief Minister of France, in 1659 following the end of the Thirty Years' War. A monolith was built in the centre of the island to commemorate the meeting.

The island has also been used for several other royal meetings:

According to the terms of the Treaty of the Pyrenees, the island would remain a condominium.

Political status

The island is a condominium,[4] the world's smallest,[5] under joint sovereignty of Spain and France,[6] and for alternating periods of six months is officially under the governance of the naval commanders of San Sebastián, Spain (1 February – 31 July) and of Bayonne, France (1 August – 31 January). Currently, the French position of "adjunct département director, delegate for the sea and coast of the Atlantic Pyrenees and Landes" carries the title of "viceroy of Pheasant Island", an unusual name in the French Republic.[7][8] One of the French officers with this title was Julien Viaud, better known as the writer Pierre Loti.[9] In practice, it is administered in turn by the mayors of Irun (in Gipuzkoa, Spain) and Hendaye (in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France).[10]

Geography

As of January 2018, the island is approximately 200 metres (660 ft) long and 40 metres (130 ft) wide, and is eroding.[10]

Since the Franco-Spanish boundary line follows the thalweg of the Bidasoa river's main course, which is located on the northern shore of the islet, the whole territory of Pheasant Island is an enclave located within the borders of Spain.[11]

Access

The island can sometimes be reached on foot from the Spanish side at low tide.[10] It is uninhabited, and access is forbidden,[12] except very occasionally on heritage open days.[10] Other than that, employees of the municipal government of Irun or Hendaye may access the island once every six months for cleaning and gardening,[13] and members of the Naval Commands of San Sebastián (Spain) and Bayonne (France), responsible for monitoring the island, land on it every five days.[13]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Wullms, Jannie (2012). "La edición" (PDF). Propuesta de una edición crítica de José de Butrón y Mújica, Relación panegírica de la jornada de los señores, señor don Luis Méndez de Haro y señor cardenal Julio de Mazarino, a la conferencia de los Tratados de la Paz entre el Católico Felipe Cuarto el Grande de España, y el Cristianísimo Luis Catorce de Francia (MA) (in Spanish). Universidad Complutense de Madrid. pp. 59–83. Docket 17363. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  2. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTECLs_9jFI&ab_channel=Trebbie
  3. ↑ Rioja Andueza, Iker (1 August 2022). "España pierde la isla de Irún que reunió a Felipe IV, Luis XIV, Velázquez y D'Artagnan... hasta febrero de 2023". ElDiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  4. ↑ "España asume la jurisdicción de la isla de los Faisanes, la más pequeña del mundo". El Mundo (in Spanish). 2 February 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  5. ↑ "The Pheasant Island - A threshold in Time" by G. Sánchez Arsuaga, EURAU18 Congress proceedings 85, page 549
  6. ↑ "International Condominium" (Xavier Henry Mermoz M. du Pré-Maillard, International Boundaries Review, 2013) : The German-Luxembourgish condominium constitutes a common territory under common sovereignty of the two adjacent States and does not form part of the national territory of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, nor that of the Federal Republic of Germany, as recalled by Luxembourg law (2012). The same is true of the Franco-Spanish condominium: the Ile des Faisans, which once belonged entirely to Irun but which was divided into one French and one Spanish parts during the negotiations for peace between France and Spain (1659), became undivided between the two crowns by the Treaty of Bayonne (1856) and its current administration is governed by an agreement signed between the two countries in 1901; since the entry into force of the latter (1902), the exercise of sovereign prerogatives (defense and police as well as justice for foreigners to the two nations) by each State alternates every six months, a viceroy representing each of them. This alternate jurisdiction only concerns the exercise of sovereign power, not the co-sovereignty in itself over this common territory, an undivided sovereignty which remains permanent throughout the year.
  7. ↑ Richardot, Robin (2 August 2019). "L'île des Faisans, le mini-royaume des vice-rois d'Espagne et de France". Le Monde.fr (in French). Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  8. ↑ Loi PRMG1721017V du 2017-07-20 Avis de vacance d'un emploi de directeur départemental interministériel adjoint, délégué à la mer et au littoral (DDTM des Pyrénées-Atlantiques)
  9. ↑ Groizeleau, Vincent (6 January 2017). "Gendarmerie maritime: Avec la brigade de l'Adour". Mer et Marine (in French). Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "The island that switches countries every six months". BBC. 28 January 2018.
  11. ↑ "International Condominium" (Xavier Henry Mermoz M. du Pré-Maillard, International Boundaries Review, 2013) : This territorial possession is a dependency of both the French Republic and the Kingdom of Spain and is currently located as an enclave within Spain for - as per the 1856 treaty - the border with France is right in the middle of the main channel of the Bidasoa river.
  12. ↑ "Caneta and Pheasant Island". Hendaye Tourism. Retrieved 23 October 2021. Currently, the island cannot be visited but it can easily be seen from the Joncaux bank, on the Bay Path.
  13. 1 2 Porto, Rita. "A ilha dos Faisões, o condomínio mais antigo do mundo, é seis meses francesa e seis meses espanhola". Observador (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 3 February 2019.

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43°20′34″N 1°45′56″W / 43.34278°N 1.76556°W / 43.34278; -1.76556

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