Escaldes-Engordany (cat. Escaldes-Engordany) is the seventh parish of Andorra (became a district in 1978, and was previously part of the capital Andorra La Vella) on the Gran Valira river.
Photo: Enzo Rodrigues
Currently the border between Andorra La Vella and Escaldes – Engordany is nominal (a street divides 2 cities). The parish is composed of the areas of les Escaldes, Engordany, Els Vilars d’Engordany, Engolasters, and El Fener.
It borders Encamp to the north and northeast, Sant Julià de Lòria in the southwest, Andorra la Vella in the west, La Massana in the northwest and Catalonia (Spain) in the east, south and southeast.
The status of an independent district of Escaldes – Engordany, received due to its thermal springs, which made it very attractive for tourists. Hot springs, spouting out of the ground, are the main attraction of the district. The outlet temperature of the ground water reaches 70C, making them one of the hottest on earth. The name of the city received also due to the sources. The word comes from the ancient Roman “calidae” – “warm water”.
The history of the district dates back to the era of ancient Rome, as evidenced by numerous archaeological finds. Basically, it’s a huge number of rarities and ancient Roman Iberian coins. According to various reports, the first settlements appeared in the area of Escaldes – Engordany in the I-II centuries B. C. Later, they became the pastoral communities. Processing wool was cheap because of the proximity to the hot mineral springs. Subsequently, this has led to a rapid development of the wool industry. See here more history
Escaldes – Engordany today has different ultra-modern tourist infrastructure. There are many comfortable hotels of different levels of service, shopping malls, restaurants, cafes and bars, museums.
Tourism, attractions, architectural sights and what to see in Escaldes – Engordany
The main ancient buildings in Escaldes – Engordany made in Gothic and Romanesque styles. Overall the city is surprisingly cosmopolitan. Today the architecture of ancient buildings resonates with modern art of glass and concrete.
1. Sant Miguel d’Engolasters was built in classical Romanesque style in the XII century: rectangular nave, semicircular apses, triangle roof, bell tower. The stairs were added on later. The construction looks unusual because of the disproportion of the nave and 17-meter-heigh bell tower. The bell tower has got double arch windows without partitions.
2. Sant Pere Martir Church was built in accordance to the project of the architect Josep Danes in honor of wool dressers—as a sign of gratitude for their work that favored intensive development of the textile industry at Escaldes parroquia. The church was built in 1956 in the style of Neo-Romanticism. They say that the altar piece of the church emerged thanks to the joint efforts of the wool dressers and weavers.
3. Sant Roma dels Vilars church. Pre-Romanesque church from the 10
