Most places belong to one country and stay that way. But in a quiet river between France and Spain, there's a tiny island that changes hands twice a year, like clockwork, and has done so for centuries. No battles, no protests, just a polite handoff.
It's called Pheasant Island, and it sits in the Bidasoa River on the border between the two countries. Spain administers it from February 1 to July 31, and France takes over from August 1 to January 31. This shared arrangement, called a condominium, dates back to a peace treaty signed on the island in 1659. It's the smallest condominium in the world.
Where Two Kingdoms Made Peace
In 1659, Spain and France were trying to end a long, costly war. Representatives of both kingdoms, Spain's Luis Méndez de Haro and France's chief minister, Cardinal Mazarin, met on this little island, neutral ground right on the border. Over a series of 24 conferences, they worked out the Treaty of the Pyrenees.
The treaty also agreed that the island would remain shared. A stone monument still stands in the center of the island to mark the historic meeting.
A Place for Royal Meetings
The island has played matchmaker, too. In 1659, King Louis XIV of France met his future wife, Maria Theresa of Spain, there. A year later, she said farewell to her father, King Philip IV of Spain, on the island before crossing into France to become queen.
In 1721, a young Louis XV met his intended bride, Mariana Victoria of Spain, on the island. That match didn't work out. They never married, and each wed someone else.
A Viceroy for a Tiny Island
Officially, the Spanish side is overseen by the naval commander of Hondarribia, Spain. On the French side, a government official carries the grand title of "viceroy of Pheasant Island," an unusual name in modern France. One person who once held it was the French novelist Pierre Loti. In practice, the mayors of the nearby towns of Irun in Spain and Hendaye in France take turns looking after it.
The island is small, about 660 feet long and 130 feet wide as of 2018, and it has been slowly eroding. It's uninhabited, and visitors generally aren't allowed except on rare heritage open days. Town workers come by every six months for cleaning and gardening.
And the name? There are no pheasants on the island. The name may come from a mix-up of an old French word related to passing or tolls.
Another Island With Two Owners
Pheasant Island isn't the only island to be shared. In the Arctic, Canada and Denmark both claimed little Hans Island for decades in a dispute nicknamed the Whisky War. Danish visitors would plant a flag and leave a bottle of schnapps, and Canadians would answer with their own flag and a bottle of Canadian Club. The barren, uninhabited island sits in a strait between Canada's Ellesmere Island and Greenland, and the dispute was once called "the friendliest war."
In June 2022, the two countries finally agreed to split the island roughly in half along a natural fault line, giving it a land border of about 4,200 feet, one of the shortest land borders between any two countries. Proof that sometimes the friendliest solution is simply to share.
