Monumental ensemble of La Seu Vella

This monumental ensemble is formed by the Seu Vella (old cathedral) and La Suda castle, which offer the best panoramic views of the capital of Lleida. The Seu Vella has a basilican layout and was built in the 13th century on the site of a mosque. The fortified palace, where the Moorish leaders of the city lived, was built on the site of the former Andalusian fortress.

The historical site of the hill of the Seu Vella (Old Cathedral) has two of the city’s most emblematic monuments: the Seu Vella Cathedral and Suda Castle. It also has the best panoramic views of the capital city of Terra Ferma (Dry Land).

The Seu Vella is a religious building, dedicated to Saint Mary, and built in the 13th century over an old mosque. It has a basilical Latin cross layout with three naves and five monumental doors in the south wall, clear examples of late Romanesque architectural sculpture.

The bell tower is a slender 60 metre high tower, built between the 14th and 15th centuries, which has seven bells, two of which are Gothic, from the 15th century. The cloister, from the 14th century, is rectangular with naves in five sections with ogival vaults and large elegant windows offering good view of the city and fertile plain.

The landscape of Lleida can also be viewed from the tip of the Lengua de Serpiente (Serpent’s Tooth) and from the Reina (Queen’s) bastion, on the same hill, where the remains of the old Suda Castle stand.

This fortified palace was built over the old al-Andalus fortress, where the Arab military lords of the city lived, and which was the residence of the kings of the Crown of Aragon during the 13th century. Today only its southern part remains, because of different explosions that took place during the French War and the Spanish Civil War.