There’s an island in Europe which is extremely difficult to visit and actually changes the country it is in every six months.
The very small island alternates every six months between two major European countries – France and Spain – where a section of the border between the two continues to change.
The mysterious island in Europe
Pheasant Island lies on the Bidasoa River that separates France and Spain, with one side of the river featuring the Spanish town of Irun, and the other the French town of Hendaye.
Under the Treaty of Pyrennes in 1659, the island gained status as a condominium, a title it still has today. Between February 1 and July 31 each year the island falls under the administration of the Spanish naval commanders in San Sebastian, and for the rest of the year, between August 1 and January 31, it is under the governance of France.
The island itself is just 660 feet long and 130 feet wide; completely uninhabited.
At present, the French position of “adjunct departement director, delegate for the sea and coast of the Atlantic Pyrenees and Landes” carries the title of “Viceroy of Pheasant Island”, a strange name in the French Republic.
One of the French officers with this title was Julien Viaud, more commonly known as the writer Pierre Loti. The shift between governance is administered in turn by the mayors of Irun in Spain, and Hendaye, in France.
The Treaty of Pyrenees was the conclusion of a series of 24 conferences held between Luis Mendes de Haro, a grandee of Spain, and Cardinal Mazarin, Chief Minister of France, in 1659, bringing a close to the Thirty Years’ War.
A monolith was then constructed in the middle of the island to commemorate the meeting.
The island has also played host to several other royal meetings, and is where Louis XIV met his future wife Maria Theresa of Spain. In 1721, Louis XV met his intended bride Mariana Victoria of Spain there; however, the two never married, and Louis instead married Marie Leszczynska, and Mariana married the future Joseph I of Portugal.
Pheasant Island can at times be reached by foot from the Spanish side at low tide, but it is uninhabited and access is forbidden, except very occasionally on heritage open days.
Apart from that, employees of the municipal government of Irun or Hendaye can access the island once every six months for cleaning and gardening, and members of the Naval Commands of San Sebastian and Bayonne, responsible for monitoring the island, land on it every five days.
Because the Franco-Spanish boundary line follows the thalweg (the fastest part) of the Bidasoa river’s main course, which is located on the northern shore of the islet, the whole territory of Pheasant Island is an enclave located within the borders of Spain.
