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The European island that changes nationality twice a year

2022-07-11 19:16:06Lifestyle SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
The European island that changes nationality twice a year
Pheasant Island

Pheasant Island, located between France and Spain, strangely changes places twice a year. But why?

From the lookout over San Sebastián in Spain, a hiker can see one of the oldest, most romantic and biblical trails in the world. The Camino de Santiago pilgrimage passes there and it is a site admired for centuries.

Every year, long distance hikers and pilgrims pass through but few know of the existence of a strange and uninhabited place called Pheasant Island.

Nestled on the borderlands between Hendaye, France and Irun, Spain, on the Bidasoa River that flows into the Bay of Biscay, the island belongs to each nation for six consecutive months and is a historical record of rivalry between the countries.

The European island that changes nationality twice a year
Pheasant Island is located in the Bidasoa River between Hendaye, France and Irun, Spain

Border irregularities are found all over Europe, and the world, but a 200-meter-long island that swaps places every two years is extremely strange. And few, surprisingly, know anything about Pheasant Island.

Pía Alkain Sorondo, an archaeologist who now leads walking tours of the region and, like most people in this part of Spain, feels it is her duty to keep the stories of the Basque Country alive.

"I like to tell the story of our heritage," says Sorondo.

She says there is a hidden medieval history along the riverbank, but most people pass by without knowing anything.

"That's what I'm trying to change."

Tree-lined Pheasant Island lies just 10 meters from the Spanish side of the river and 20 meters from the French side. In the center was a large, carved monolith, which gives the place a sense of the weight of centuries of history.

The European island that changes nationality twice a year
The island is only open to the public on one of the bi-annual surrender days or as part of the heritage tour

"Learning the history here is like a revelation," says Sorondo. "It's almost a ghost island."

Throughout history, there have been a number of different names for Pheasant Island. To begin with, today's name "Isla de los Faisanes" in Spanish, Faisai Uhartea in Basque, Île des Faisans in French are a mistake.

"There are no pheasants on the island of pheasants", said the Frenchman Victor Hugo when he visited in 1843. In fact, there are only migratory birds.

In Roman times, the island was known as "Pausoa", the Basque word for passage or step. Then the French translated this as "Paysans", meaning peasant, before transforming it to "Faisans", for pheasant. Over time, the name Île des Faisans stuck.

The island became famous in 1648, after a truce at the end of the Thirty Years' War between France and Spain, when it was chosen as a neutral space to show the new border territories. In fact, 24 summits took place. Eleven years later, the peace agreement of the Treaty of the Pyrenees was reached.

To honor the occasion, a royal wedding was arranged and, in 1660, French King Louis XIV married King Philip IV's daughter, Maria Theresa of Spain, at the site of the declaration. Wooden bridges were built to facilitate crossing.

The European island that changes nationality twice a year

Pheasant Island was so symbolic as a metaphor for peace that it was decided that both countries would have joint "custody" of the territory. Spain would retain custody from 1 February to 31 July each year, while Pheasant Island would become an official part of France for the remaining six months.

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