It is located in a river between France and Spain
There are no pheasants on Pheasant Island, Victor Hugo exclaimed when he visited the site in 1843.
In fact, there is almost nothing there. The representatives of the fauna are ducks and migratory birds, there are also a few trees and bushes, plus a monument.
It couldn’t be more – the island is only 200 meters long and its area is 2000 square meters. It is located in the Bidasoa River, which forms the border between the Basque Country in Spain and France and flows into the Bay of Biscay.
The island itself is 10 meters from the Spanish side and 20 meters from the French side. It would be a perfectly ordinary river island if it weren’t for the world’s smallest co-governed territory.
Pheasant Island is under the possession of Spain 6 months of the year – from February 1 to July 31, and in the remaining 6 months – of France.
That is, this very Wednesday, the little piece of land in the middle of the river becomes French again.
The responsibility for the management of the island is shared between the cities of Irun in Spain and Ondai in France. It is not very big – in addition to being uninhabited, the island is also closed to visitors almost constantly. It can only be seen on the days of the handover of power between the two countries or as part of organized tourist tours.
However, the transfer of power itself was accompanied by a solemn ceremony and officials. Responsibilities of the country owning the island are to clean it, maintain the place where boats stop, strengthen the land of the island and take samples of the river water.
Pheasant Island is a condominium – a territory over which at least two countries share their power equally.
For half of the year it is part of France, and for the other half – of Spain.
At the same time, the small piece of land in the river has been divided on both sides for centuries. In the middle of the 17th century – after the end of the 30-year war between France and Spain, it was chosen as the neutral zone on which to negotiate the border.
After the negotiations in 1659, the Treaty of the Pyrenees was also signed there, and the monument on the island commemorates just that.
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As befits the times, the peace is also sealed with a monarchical marriage.
The marriage between the French king Louis XIV and the daughter of the Spanish king – Maria Theresa of Spain – was arranged on the island. It is also where the princess entered France to get married.
Subsequently, the joint authority of the two countries over the territory was also established.
As for the pheasants, the name of the island has nothing to do with them. In Roman times the place was called pausoa, which is the Basque word for cross. The French translated this as peisan – peasant, which was transformed into pheasant – pheasant.
