Pere d'Urtx

Pere d'Urtx
Born	13th Century Urtx, Cerdanya
Died	12 January 1293 Seu d'Urgell, Urgell
Burial place	Cathedral of Santa Maria d'Urgell, Seu d'Urgell, Spain
Occupation	Catholic bishop
Years active	1269 - 1293
Title	Bishop of Urgell
Term	3 November 1269 - 12 January 1293
Parent(s)	Galceran d'Urtx and Blanca, lady of Mataplana

Pere d'Urtx (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈuɾtʃ] OORTCH) was Bishop of Urgell from 1269 to 1293. He became the first Episcopal Co-Prince of Andorra when he signed the paréage establishing joint-sovereignty over the territory with Roger-Bernard III, Count of Foix in 1278.

The paréage ended almost a century of conflict over the territory between successive Bishops of Urgell, on the one hand, and Viscounts of Castellbò and Counts of Foix, on the other, and effectively established the modern state of Andorra. He was archdeacon of Prats and became the bishop of Urgell on 3 November 1269. He attended the provincial councils of 1274, 1279 and 1292.

As the bishop of Urgell, he was concerned about the life of the city's canons and gave facilities to its members to pursue university studies. He also carried out restoration and conservation works for its cathedral and its surroundings, such as the cloister. In 1277, Roger-Bernard III, Count of Foix, took the castle of [[Pla de Sant Tirs with an army of 1,000 knights and 10,000 soldiers. The bishop made peace. The two parties signed the first pareage in Lleida on September 8th 1278. They signed a second pareage on December 6th 1288. He was buried in the Cathedral of Santa Maria d'Urgell after his death in January 1293.

External links

• Bisbat d'Urgell: Pere d'Urtx (in Catalan)