Andorra has a very unique government. It is a parliamentaary principality...with two princes...with the President of France and the Bishop of Urgell serving in those roles. The Parliament of Andorra is known as the General Council and meets in this building.
Wikipedia (
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"The General Council consists of between 28 and 42 Councillors, as the members of the legislative branch are called. The Councillors serve for four-year terms and elections are held between the thirtieth and fortieth days following the dissolution of the previous Council. The Councillors can be elected on two equal constituencies.
Half are elected in equal number from each of the seven administrative parishes and the other half of the Councillors are elected from a single national constituency. 15 days after the election, the Councillors hold their inauguration. During this session, the Syndic General, who is the head of the General Council, and the Subsyndic General, his assistant, are elected. Eight days later, the Council convenes once more. During this session the Head of Government, the Prime Minister of Andorra, is chosen from among the Councillors."
The building is known as the Casa de la Vall and the Wikipedia article about the builing (
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tells us:
"Casa de la Vall is a historical house in Andorra la Vella, Andorra. It is the headquarters of the General Council of Andorra. It lies just to the southwest of the Andorra National Library. It is a heritage property registered in the Cultural Heritage of Andorra.
It was built in 1580 as a manor and tower defense by the Busquets family. In 1702 it was acquired by the Consejo de la Tierra.
The floor of the building is rectangular and has two floors. An old pigeon-shaped tower stands in a corner. In the gardens of the building is the sculpture, designed by Francesc Viladomat, La Danse.
The ground floor is for the administration of justice with the court room. On the first floor, the main floor of the family home, is the Council Chamber, a chapel dedicated to St. Ermengol and the "closet of the seven keys" which are stored historical documents such as the Manual Digest and Politar Andorrà. The cabinet has a lock for each of the parishes of Andorra. The second floor housed, until the beginning of the nineties, the Postal Museum of Andorra, which was dismantled to provide meeting space for Comissió Tripartida, in charge of drafting the Constitution of Andorra in 1993."
Additional (and better photos) of the building can be seen at (
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See the official website at (
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