King Castle – La Suda
Spain seems to have a lunar landscape along the plain washed by the Ebro, which flows placidly under the Pyrenees. Rare trees line the road in the middle of the desert.
Between Zaragoza and Barcelona, we go down to Lleida to climb towards the Turò de Lleida, a hill 85 meters above the plain carved out by the Rio Segre. Fatigue in the sultry heat of July is rewarded by one of the most fascinating places in Catalonia.
The castle of la Suda, a military building built during the Muslim domination, stands on the top the hill. After the Christian reconquest, the wedding of Count Ramón Berenguer IV of Barcelona and Petronilla who was the daughter of the King of Aragon was celebrated in the castle in 1150 in the history.
The marriage sanctioned the union between the Kingdom of Aragon and the county of Barcelona, so much so that their son Alfonso II founded a new state called the Crown of Aragon.
The origin of Seu Vella
The magnificent Seu Vella cathedral stands in front of the castle de la Suda on the Turò di Lleida. The Seu Vella is Romanesque cathedral with Gothic features.
For example, there are oval-shaped arches in the cloister and in the door of the apostles, while the bell tower is decorated with gargoyles. The mix between the stability of the Romanesque forms and the monumentality of the Gothic features is defined as the school of Lleida.
Before the cathedral was built, there was a church used as a mosque by Muslims for some time on the hill. In 1193, the master Pere de Coma was commissioned to design the cathedral. The architect worked on the project until his death in 1220, while the church was consecrated only in 1278.
The later life of Seu Vella
In the following centuries, important elements such as the cloister and the bell tower were built. After the bloody siege of Lleida during the War of the Spanish Succession, the authorities decided to use the entire hill as a military fort.
The castle de la Suda became a powder keg and the Seu Vella was deconsecrated. The authorities had the New Cathedral of Lleida built in the valley below. During the 19th century, the Seu Vella was rediscovered and declared as a national monument in 1918.
Written by Enrico, Translated by Hua and Photo from Hua
