# Llivia, Spain **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 5, 2001, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/llivia-spain/67737 "2001-06-05T22:19:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![fandango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b5ac83/32.png) [@fandango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fandango)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2001, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/llivia-spain/67737/1 "2001-06-05T22:19:55Z")
Does anyone know much about LLivia, Spain? All I know is that it is a town that belongs to Spain but is entirely within France. I heard this is a result of a clerical error a long time ago. Anyone know for sure? ---
**Author:** ![dqa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dqa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dqa)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2001, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/llivia-spain/67737/2 "2001-06-05T23:05:39Z")
Spain ceded 33 villages to France in 1659, by the Treaty of the Pyrenees. However, they retained Llivia. The road from Llivia to the Spanish frontier is “neutral,” according to Encyclopædia Britannica. Not sure who gets the bill for paving it. I found no evidence of a clerical error, but then I didn’t look very hard. There should be more detailed information [here](http://www.llivia.com/histor.htm), if your Spanish or French is good enough to plow through the local language. Here’s a sample: > [@](#): > > El Tractat de Llívia –1.660- va ser l’acord complementari que en consumava la separació. Fins al 1.716 va pertànyer a la vegueria de Cerdanya, i des de llavors fins al 1.833, al corregiment de Puigcerdà, excepte en el període 1.812-13, en què fou del departament del Segre, francès. Però no és fins el 1868, sota el definitiu Tractat de Baiona, que s’estableixen les fites que separen els territoris estatals de França i Espanya, amb els agregats de Gorguja i Cereja, així com els camins que havia de seguir el bestiar per pasturar als comunals del Carlit i els drets de reg ---
**Author:** ![fandango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b5ac83/32.png) [@fandango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fandango)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2001, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/llivia-spain/67737/3 "2001-06-05T23:25:36Z")
Seems to be in Catalan, (well, at least not French.) But it still begs the question: Why keep one village? I heard it was accidentally left off of the Treaty when it was signed. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2001, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/llivia-spain/67737/4 "2001-06-06T02:44:40Z")
[This site (in french)](http://www.pyrenees-decouvertes.com/sommaire/visites/lieux/font-romeu/index.asp) implies that the Spaniards were being “sneaky”, and signed a treaty returning villages in Cerdaña to France. But Llivia was a former roman capital, hence a city, not a village, and so wasn’t part of the treaty. Why keep one village? If it was bigger than the other towns surrounding it, then it might have been a not insignificant tax base. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2001, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/llivia-spain/67737/5 "2001-06-06T21:39:41Z")
Llivia is an enclave, a part of one country surrounded on all sides by another. There are other enclaves in Europe: Baarle-Nassau and Baarle-Hertog, Belgium, are surrounded by the Netherlands Busingen, Germany, is surrounded by Switzerland Campione, Italy, is surrounded by Switzerland