The municipalities of Andorra la Vella and Escaldes-Engordany have regained access to the cabinet of the historical archive of the Comú of Andorra, located in the Casa de la Vall. This follows the delivery of the keys by Carles Ensenyat, the general syndic, and Sandra Codina, the deputy general syndic, to Sergi González, the mayor of Andorra la Vella, and Rosa Gili, the mayor of Escaldes-Engordany.
The cabinet is situated in the office of the general syndic, which was used as a meeting room for the Comú of Andorra when the Casa Busquets became the property of the Consell General around 1702. The cabinet dates back to this period and housed documentation from the Comú, secured with two locks that required keys from both Andorra la Vella and Escaldes-Engordany.
During the restoration of the Casa de la Vall, it was discovered that the original keys were missing. Consequently, replicas of the original keys were commissioned from a local craftsman to ensure they matched the original design.
The general syndic emphasised that the handover of these keys aims to continue the tradition and preserve the symbolism of safeguarding communal documentation. However, the more than 5,500 documents that were once stored in the cabinet were transferred to the National Archive on 5 September 1996, to ensure they are available to researchers and the public under optimal conditions for conservation and classification.
The cabinet contained important documents from the Comú, including minutes of sessions and various records such as books, ledgers, and parchments detailing the activities of an institution that managed communal affairs and regulated the relationships of its parish inhabitants from the 14th century until 1978. The historical archive of the Comú of Andorra ceased its documentary activities on 14 June 1978, following the division of the parishes of Andorra la Vella and Escaldes-Engordany.
