Pheasant Island

Pheasant Island, a 200m-long uninhabited strip of land shared by France and Spain. The lozenge-shaped outcrop, which lies in the Bidasoa river 20m from the French bank and 10m from the Spanish side, is owned by each country for six months of the year. The tiny territory was used as neutral ground for negotiations during the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648); when the conflict ended, the two nations agreed to share it as a symbol of peace.