Ordino

Geography

The parish has borders with France and also with the parishes of La Massana, Canillo, and Encamp. The only main road and only all year external link is the CG-3 leading to the neighbouring parish of La Massana. With 85 km² is the third largest parish after Canillo and Encamp.

The town of Ordino lies on the footslopes of Casamanya (2740 m), a mountain which has spectacular panoramic views from its summit being located almost exactly in the centre of Andorra.

History

Ordino is historically known for its ironworks of the 16th century, especially Farga del Serrat and Farga de l'Areny. Besides being the industrial center of Andorra, Ordino is considered the cultural center of Andorra. Here Antoni Fiter i Rossell wrote the Manual Digest (1748), called the "Bible of Andorra," which tells the story, the government and the Andorran customs.

The town of Ordino include the parish church of Sant Corneli i Sant Cebrià, already mentioned in 839, was mainly built during the 12th and 13th centuries. The Romanesque church of Sant Martí de la Cortinada, with 12th-century murals, is also a good example of romanesque Andorran art.

Manor houses like Fiter-Riba or Casa Rossell, which holds the original Manual Digest and Areny-Plandolit family house, owners of Farga de l'Areny, represented the good society of Andorra between the 17th and 19th centuries. Both mansions were acquired in 1972 by Consell General and converted into an ethnological and historical museum.

The parish and town is the namesake of the Andorran legend El buner d'Ordino, in which a bagpiper from Ordino, en route to a festival in Canillo, is chased and treed by wolves, but frightens them off by playing his instrument.

Culture

Ordino has been part of the culture of Andorra and the Catalan language as major headquarter of Fundacio Ramon Llull (Ramon Llull Foundation), an international organization constituted in 2008 in order to promote Catalan language and culture internationally.

The National Auditorium of Andorra (Catalan: Auditori Nacional d'Andorra) is located in Ordino town. The International Narciso Yepes Festival, a series of classical music concerts, has been held there every October since 1983. The festival was started by the late guitarist, Narciso Yepes.

The Postal and Postcard Museum of Andorra (Catalan: Museu Postal d'Andorra) and the Miniature Museum (Catalan: Museu de la Miniatura) are localed in the parish of Ordino.

Sports

The Comú d'Ordino, the local government, has a sports center (CEO) with swimming pool, gym, squash, sauna and rock climbing wall; along with the CTEO sport center with indoor and outdoor fields. It's also the parish were the start and finish of Ultra Trail Andorra take place, one of the most important mountain trail races in Southern Europe.

FC Ordino, founded in 2010, is one of the major sport clubs in the parish. The club currently plays in Primera Divisió, the Andorran Premier League.

In the extreme northwest of the parish is the Vallnord (Ordino-Arcalis sector ski station) ski resort which has peaks up to 2,625 m.

During summer the ski resort is open as bike park. In mountain biking, Vallnord was the venue for events during the 2008, 2009 and 2013 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup. The 2015 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships were held in Vallnord.

In road cycling, Arcalis was used for a stage finish in the 1994 Vuelta a España, and Pal as a stage finish in the 2010 Vuelta a España. Vallnord was used for stage finishes in the 2007, 2009 and 2011 Volta a Catalunya. Stage 10 of the 1997 Tour de France, Stage 7 of the 2009 Tour de France and Stage 9 of the 2016 Tour de France also all finished at Arcalis.