Editing Andorra la Vella (section)

==History==
[[File:San Andreu.jpg|thumb|left|Sant Andreu Church]]
The site of Andorra la Vella has been settled since prior to the [[Christian era]]—notably by the [[Andosin]] tribe from the late [[Neolithic]]. The state is one of the ''[[Marca Hispanica]]'' created and protected by [[Charlemagne]] in the eighth century as a buffer from the [[Moors|Moorish]] settlers in the [[Iberian Peninsula]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.andorramania.com/histoire_gb.htm |title=History of the Principality of Andorra |publisher=Andorramania.com |date=1997-12-11 |access-date=2010-06-27}}</ref>

The settlement of Andorra la Vella has been the principal city of Andorra since 1278 when the French and the Episcopal co-princes [[Paréage of Andorra 1278|agreed]] to joint suzerainty. Andorra la Vella's old town—the ''[[Barri Antic]]''—includes streets and buildings dating from this time. Its most notable building is the ''[[Casa de la Vall]]''—constructed in the early sixteenth century—which has been the state's parliamentary house since 1702. Andorra la Vella was, during this period, the capital of a largely isolated and [[feudal]] state, which retained its independence due to this principle of co-sovereignty.

Well into the twentieth century, the area around Andorra la Vella remained largely forgotten. After political turmoil in the 1930s and an attempted coup by [[Boris Skossyreff]], an informal democracy developed.

In 1993, the country's first constitution formalised this [[parliamentary democracy]] with executive, legislative, and judicial branches located in Andorra la Vella.

During this period, Andorra also developed as a [[tax haven]], resulting in the construction of modern banking offices in Andorra La Vella. The city also developed its skiing facilities, to the extent that Andorra la Vella was Andorra's applicant city for the XXI Olympic Winter Games, the [[2010 Winter Olympics]]. However, Andorra la Vella was not selected by the [[IOC]] as a candidate city, following the evaluation report of an IOC commission. It also hosted both the 1991 and [[2005 Games of the Small States of Europe]].