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WHERE ARE LLEIDA?
Lleida (Lleida in Catalan) is the capital of the province of Lleida, in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain.
Half way between Zaragoza and Barcelona.
It has over 140 thousand inhabitants.
INDEX
LLEIDA, HER STORY:
OLD AGE:
Iltrida it was the name of Lleida when the ilergetesof iberian origin, lived there in the mid s. VI.C.
Its important warlords Indíbil and Mandoni, defended the ilergetes of the romans and allied with the carthaginians in what was the battle of the Ebro in the 215 A. C. where Hasdrubal (brother of the famous Hannibal) he was the commander of the carthaginian army which was defeated against the romans.
In the year 195 to. C. a new major uprising of the tribes of the ilergetes, lacetanas and ausetanas was stifled by the consul Marcus Porcius Cato and that meant the death of the warlords Indíbil and Mandonio. The end of the second punic war bring with romanization and assimilation of the roman culture. Iltrida become Ilerda.
In the year 49 to. C. Julius Caesar waged a battle of the Roman Civil War against Pompey Magnus in front of its walls. The annals of rome speak of a fortified city with a stone bridge, which was a municipality created at the time of the emperor Augustus.
Everything indicates that the fall of the roman empire was not something positive to Lleida, being part of the visigothic kingdom until the muslim conquest. It is a dark period for the city.
MIDDLE AGE:
Towards the years 716-719, Lleida was occupied by the muslims; different dynasties fought for the domination of the city during the four centuries of coexistence. And it was a period of splendour for the city due to its proximity with Saraqusta (Zaragoza muslim)
Wilfred the Hairy went to war with the Banu Qasi who ruled Lérida and attacked the city failing in their attempt. The muslims decided to take revenge by attacking Barcelona a few years later and Wifredo would die in the fight on the 11th of August 897. Their remains lie in the Monastery of Ripoll.
Finally, after seven months of siege, the count Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona and the Prince of Aragon and the count Ermengol VI of Urgell did capitulate to the last muslim king Muzzáfarafter a siege, begun in 1149.
The 1150 in the "Castell Reial" of the city of Lleida is celebrated the betrothal (actual ceremony) of the Count of Barcelona, Ramon Berenguer IV and Petronilla (when you reach the legal age)
Year 1203 the construction began in the Seu Vella of Lleida, under the direction of Pere Coma. In 1278, the Bishop of Lleida Guillem de Montcada the consecrated as the new cathedral. In 1297, James II he founded the famous Estudi General that would be the oldest university of the Crown of Aragon and Catalonia.
In 1461 started civil war Catalan, which coincided with the revolt of the peasantry. The king managed to keep the fidelity of Aragon, Valencia and Sicily facing the revolt of Catalonia. In 1464after six months of siege, and continuous attacks on the city, John II of Aragon achieved its capitulation. The magnitude of the attacks was devastating, the gardens close to the city were razed, disappeared some suburbs and 400 houses were destroyed. Lleida take a long time to recover.
MODERN AGE
During the War of the Reapers (1640-1659), Lleida, was attacked four times and besieged on three separate occasions. The city was devastated again. And later with the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1715), Lleida, and supported the archduke Charles of Austria front Felipe V. Eventually, the city ended up surrendering to the troops of Philip V.
As a punishment to the great resistance that opposed the city, 700 refugees in the convent of the “Roser” were executed. We ordered the destruction of the historic centre of the city, and suppressed the Estudi General.
The Seu Vellaclosed to worship from 1797, became a military barracks where a garrison guarding the movements of the inhabitants of the city. The remaining population was moved to new quarters.
Subsequently, he built a new cathedral: the Seo New under the reign of Carlos III. Agriculture and livestock would be the engines of recovery, giving the city a physiognomy of urban development in line with its role of capital of the province.
CONTEMPORARY:
At the beginning of the century XIX Lleida suffers the napoleonic invasion. Once again, the city is forced to recover from the ravages of the war and starts a new stage from the second half of the century XIX with the arrival of the railroad to the city in 1860.
The Spanish civil war (1936-1939) destroyed the city, with 40,000 inhabitants in the year 1940, it took the effort of all of Spain to achieve the urban growth, commercial and population it has today.
Currently, the city of Lleida has around 140,000 inhabitants, and it is the capital of the province of Lleida. Full of history and it is unfortunate that so many wars within and outside the city. Lleida is without a doubt a synonym of resilience and perseverance in addition to a beautiful city today to visit. Don't miss then all that you can see it in Lleida in 1 day!
PLACES TO VISIT / WHAT TO SEE IN LLEIDA
Click on the names of the places to see their location on Google Maps.
The hill of la Seu Vella defines the profile of Lleida and is his heritage element most important and characteristic. The Seu Vella is a religious building dedicated to Saint Mary which was built in the THIRTEENTH century on an ancient mosque in late romanesque style.
60 meters (XIV-XV centuries), and the cloister (XIV century) are some of the highlights. You can also see from there a good view of the city and see the remains of the old castle of la Suda, palace and fortress built on the old stronghold of al-andalus.
Coming down from the hill of la Seu Vella, the visitor may be lost by some of the streets of the old town and see other buildings of interest, as the Palau de la Paeria (XIII century), the seat of the Council.
In the plaza of the Cathedral there are different constructions, such as the Seu Nova , built between 1761 and 1781the baroque style, or the old hospital of Santa Maria , construction of the gothic-plateresque the XV-XVI centuries.
Contains many interesting archaeological sites worth visiting.
The second most important city after the Seu Vella, is a building of romanesque origin of the the TWELFTH century, but they have carried out many enlargements in the gothic era. He came to be the site of the cathedral on two occasions.
The romanesque style. Throughout history, it has had various functions, such as chapel of the Study General or military barracks from the War of the Reapers in 1648. The old Llar Sant Josep hosts the collection of the Museum of Lleida Diocesan and Comarcal, where visitors can discover the rich historical heritage that has the city of Lleida.
In the roman era was already used for the same Julius Caesar in the year 49 bc, during the Civil war between Julius Caesar and Gnaeus Pompey Magnus.
The castle of Gardeny it is a monumental complex located on top of the hill of Gardeny, one of the two hills of the city of Lleida. He was taken up during the second half of the TWELFTH century, by the Order of the Temple.
When in the spring of the year 1149, count of Barcelona Ramon Berenguer IV began the siege of the muslim city of Lleida and from the hill of Gardeny, it counted with the collaboration of the militia of the knights templar, who contributed to the campaign, with the shipment of military personnel. Once conquered the city, and in appreciation of your participation, the earl gives himself over to the militia to various properties, among which would include the same hill of Gardeny.
The fact that it is a temple complex flat rate of new plant, and still keep intact the main buildings of the s. XII, makes this castle on an exceptional testimony of the architecture of the knights templar in the Crown of Aragon.
Its structure presents a number of innovative approaches in the context of the time, and to this day it retains a good portion of the perimeter of the walls. Inside the enclosure there are two buildings: the tower room, or a tower of two floors with multiple dependencies, -a tower of homage detached and welcoming dependencies noble of the house,- and the convent church, – a singular building that preserves one of the few witnesses in Europe of mural painting in buildings templar.
In addition, Lleida offers a range of museums, complete with equipment such as the room of archaeology of the Institut d'estudis Ilerdencs, the Museum of Art Jaume Morera, the Art Center's Breadbasket, the Museum of the Automotive Roda Roda and the Museum of the Aguto, with several spaces that can be visited in and around the city.
RECOMMENDED ROUTE
Probably start from the bus station / train. And the first thing that I recommend is to go direct to the SEU VELLA. It really is shocking to all that you see there. A large part is free, and only the entrance to the church, bell tower and cloister of payment (of course WORTH).
The rest of the wonderful places that you have Lleida to offer are very close to each other. Only the Castle of Gardeny is a little further (not both).
As in every blog of historic cities that I've visited, you'll see that in the name of the place to visit any time in the section of THAT VIEW it is the location of the place on google maps with just a click at the name. So you can walk around and Lleida using my blog of guide or you can set up the tour to your liking previously with this little hand.
HOW TO GET FROM BARCELONA TO LLEIDA IN 1 DAY. So low cost.
On December 16, 2022 I made my trip to Lleida from Barcelona. I decided to use the app BLA BLA CAR as it was the cheaper option compared to the bus and the train. If you don't know what it is about bla bla car, by clicking here I'll explain.
The first leg was at 9AM and cost 12€. It was very enjoyable with a girl Catalan driving, and 2 passengers are also local. During the trip you can see the mountains of Montserrat (another wonderful place for nature lovers).
Fortunately left me very close to the center, and as the city is not very big, everything is walkable to make your visit complete. At the end of my tour, the return made to the 17.10 hs this time if in bus with Alsa from the bus station and it cost me 20,85€. I recommend buying the tickets from the app or web page so you are quiet.
It is a journey of almost 2 hours and is located in the middle point between Barcelona and Zaragoza. So if you want to see the 2 cities you could spend 1 day at each one doing this route. In my case I preferred to go and come in the day, I was about 6hs in total in the city because it was winter, perhaps with better weather should be a little bit more. But I think that was enough time to see enough of what Lleida has to offer.
-Buy your tickets at ALSA https://www.alsa.es/
Location Estacio Del Nord – BARCELONA https://goo.gl/maps/En7NFq1uvKGEkCD77
Location bus Station LLEIDA: https://goo.gl/maps/1eELLKbbdFUuifoA9
If you like landscapes, the best option is always to choose a window and enjoy all the way through medieval towns, with their castles, churches/monasteries and mountains.
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