Village
Solsona is the capital of the comarca of Solsonès, in the province of Lleida, seat of a judicial district and see of the diocese of Solsona since it appeared, around the 10th century, beside a castle and a monastery under the name Selisona or Celsona; Philip II granted it the title of city. Its Gothic cathedral, built between the late 13th century and the 17th over an earlier Romanesque church consecrated in 1070, of which three apses and the bell tower survive, houses the Virgin of the Cloister, a 12th-century Romanesque stone image, one of the most important sculptures of Catalan Romanesque art and patroness of the city. Known for its Carnival and its Festa Major with giants since 1675, it has 9,717 inhabitants (INE 2025).
Monument
The cathedral of Santa Maria de Solsona, seat of the diocese of the same name, comprises a complex of buildings raised between the late 12th century and the 18th, in Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque styles, to which the Episcopal Palace is attached. Of the Romanesque temple consecrated in 1163, the apse, two apsidioles and the bell tower survive, the upper part of which dates from the 16th century. The current Gothic cathedral was begun in 1299 and completed in 1630 with the presbytery; in the 18th century the door of Sant Agustí was opened, with the loss of the great Romanesque portal. In the Cloister chapel the Virgin of the Cloister is venerated, patron saint of the city, carved in stone in the late 12th century by the master Gilabert de Toulouse; during the Civil War she was hidden in the bell tower and evacuated to France.
Monument
The set of walls of Solsona, begun on 17 April 1303 by agreement between the viscount Ramon Folc X and the provost Berenguer de Vilabernat, which left the neighbourhood of la Ribera outside the enclosure despite the protests of the monastery; the oldest surviving part dates from the 14th century. It came to have 21 towers and 9 gates, giving the city its characteristic triangular shape. Today a good stretch survives next to the Vall Calent, with some towers and the old gates of Torà, of Pont, of Llobera and of the Castle; of the nine original gates only those of Llobera and of the Castle still stand. The Portal del Pont, from the 18th century, forms with the bridge a harmonious Renaissance-style ensemble, with an inscription dating its inauguration to 1805.
Activity
A popular festival of Solsona (Lleida), declared a Fiesta de Interés Turístico (Festival of Tourist Interest) since 1980, which begins a few days before Shrove Thursday and ends, like every traditional carnival, on Ash Wednesday. The present-day carnival was revived in 1971, when a group of young people recovered, after the 1936 ban, the arrival of His Majesty the Carnival King, the reading of a critical sermon and the final burning of the effigy. It consists of more than 50 events spread over ten or eleven days, including Shrove Thursday, the Bajada de Boits, the Carnival Market and the Sermon, with the Gegant Boig, created in 1978, as one of its central figures. Its best-known event is the Colgada del Burro: on Saturday night a papier-mâché donkey is hoisted up the bell tower of the Torre de les Hores, to the tune of the song A Solsona bona gent, referring to the nickname mataburros (donkey-killers) given to the people of Solsona.
Activity
The Festa Major de Solsona is celebrated in the capital of the Solsonès during the feast of the Mare de Déu del Claustre, patron saint of the city, on 7, 8 and 9 September. Its most characteristic feature is the giants, documented since 1675, who dance through the streets alongside other elements of local folklore, such as the bestiary, the little horses or the ball de bastons, in one of the most outstanding folk displays in Catalonia. Its origin lies in the old Corpus Christi processions, celebrated in Solsona since 1331, from which the present-day giants and other festive figures gradually developed. In 2008 the Generalitat de Catalunya declared it a Festa Patrimonial d'Interès Nacional (Heritage Festival of National Interest), the highest recognition it grants in this field.
Historical milestone
In 1593 Pope Clement VIII approved the erection of the diocese of Solsona at the request of Philip II, and the church of the former Augustinian canonry became a cathedral. A year later the town received the title of city. The creation answered the king's wish to establish, close to the border with France, dioceses that would act as a barrier against the Protestant Huguenots. Around 1589 it was proposed in Rome to create three new Catalan dioceses, in Solsona, Manresa and Balaguer, always giving preference to Solsona; the request was delayed by the successive deaths of several popes, until Clement VIII resolved it by secularising all the Augustinian canonries of Catalonia and creating a single diocese with its see in Solsona.
Historical milestone
The Dominicans founded in 1620 a literary university that gave Solsona higher studies in theology and arts. Felipe V suppressed it in 1714, at the very moment when he was expelling the Austracist bishop Francesc Dorda.
Historical milestone
In 1810, during the Napoleonic occupation, the troops of General Macdonald set fire to the cathedral of Solsona. The fire destroyed a good part of the furnishings and of the archive and required a long interior reconstruction.
Historical milestone
The cholera epidemic that swept through Catalonia in 1854 struck Solsona hard, a walled city of narrow streets. The mortality was added to the instability of the Carlist wars and halted urban growth for decades.
Food and drink
Winter stew with pulses, vegetables and meats from the slaughter that is served in two courses. It is the dish most identified with the cooking of Solsona and appears on the restaurant menus during the cold months.
Activity
March event that brings together in Solsona growers of mountain potato and gatherers of black truffle. It includes direct sale, demonstrations of searching with a dog and tastings with produce of the comarca.
Activity
October event devoted to mushrooms and to the culture of the boletaire, with an exhibition of species, outings to the woods, gathering equipment and mycological menus in the restaurants. The pine woods of the Solsonès are among the most sought after in the country.