The Region

Fos is at the northern end of the Val d’Aran which, in turn, is located at the western end of the Catalan Pyrenees, north-west of the territory of Catalonia. The people of the Val d’Aran have their own language, Aranese, a variant of Gascon, one of the Occitan family of languages.

The Aranese have enjoyed the right to govern their own territory for centuries. In 1313, James ll ratified the document called Querimonia, the valley’s own Magna Carta, permitting the organisation of the territory in terçons under the government of the Conselh Generau d’Aran. This institution maintained its authority until 1835. The Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia restored the historical rights of the Arenese in 1979 and the Conselh Generau d’Aran was reinstated on 17 June 1991.

The current population is around 7,500 inhabitants, spread out over some thirty towns that stretch out along the course of the Garonne, with altitudes ranging from 650 meters in Les to 1,430 meters in Bagergue. The capital, Vielha, which is located in the centre of the valley, has an altitude of 980 meters above sea level.