Solsona, Lleida

Solsona is a municipality and capital of the comarca of the Solsonès in the province of Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the centre of the comarca in the Catalan Central Depression. It is served by the C-55 road to Manresa, and is linked to Berga and Bassella by the C-26.

The old town is known as the Nucli antic: it preserves a large part of its fortifications. The cathedral of Santa Maria de Solsona and the episcopal palace are in a neoclassical style. The latter houses the diocesan and comarcal museum and the Museum of Salt (Museu de la Sal), with crystals and objects made from the salt of nearby Cardona.

One of the most important events in the city is Carnaval, a pagan celebration that marks the beginning of the Quaresma.

Notable people

References

Lleida

Lleida (Catalan: [ˈʎɛjðə], locally: [ˈʎejðɛ]; Spanish: Lérida [ˈleɾiða]) is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain, capital city of the province of Lleida.

Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. The metro area has about 250,000 inhabitants. It is also the capital city of the Segrià comarca, as well as the largest city in the province. It had 137,387 inhabitants as of 2010, including the contiguous municipalities of Raimat and Sucs.

Lleida is one of the oldest towns in Catalonia, with recorded settlements dating back to the Bronze Age period. Until the Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, the area served as a settlement for an Iberian people, the Ilergetes. The town became a municipality, named Ilerda, under the reign of Augustus. It was reconquered in 1149, after being many centuries under the rule of the Moors, who had conquered the town in the 8th century. In 1297, the University of Lleida was founded, becoming the third oldest in the whole of Spain. During the following centuries, the town was damaged by several wars such as the Reapers' War in the 17th century and the Spanish Civil War in the 20th century. Since then, the city has been in a constant urban, commercial and demographic growth.

Lleida (disambiguation)

Lleida may be:

Province of Lleida

The Province of Lleida (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈʎɛjðə], locally: [ˈʎejðɛ]; Spanish: Lérida; Occitan: Lhèida) is one of the four provinces of Catalonia. It lies in north-eastern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Catalonia, and is bordered by the provinces of Girona, Barcelona, Tarragona, Zaragoza and Huesca and the countries of France and Andorra. It is often popularly referred to as Ponent (i.e. the West). It is the only province within Catalonia that is landlocked.

Of the population of 414,015 (2007), about 30% live in the capital, Lleida. Some other towns in Lleida province are La Seu d'Urgell (see of the archbishop, who is also the co-prince to Andorra), Mollerussa, Cervera, Tàrrega, Balaguer. There are 231 municipalities in Lleida. (See List of municipalities in Lleida).

Located in the Pyrenees, the Aran Valley is a special comarca with greater autonomy and with Aranese, a variety of Occitan, as its official language.

The Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park is located in this province.