The Cathedral of St. Mary of la Seu Vella (Catalan and Spanish: ''Catedral de Santa Maria de la Seu Vella'', English: ''St. Mary of the Old —Bishop— Seat'') is the former

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lleida, in

Lleida Lleida (, ; ; '' see below'') is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital and largest town in Segrià county, the Ponent region and the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, located on top of Lleida hill. In 1707, the Gothic cathedral was turned into a military citadel by decision of King Philip V of Spain. The new cathedral, known as the Seu Nova (New See) and located downhill at Carrer Major, was consecrated in 1781.La Catedral nueva de Lleida
Nevertheless, the Seu Vella is the defining monument of Lleida, the symbol of the city, being visible from its hilltop site anywhere in the city.

History

The site was previously occupied by a Palaeo-Christian and

Visigothic The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied barbarian military group united under the comman ...

cathedral, which later, after the Islamic conquest of Spain, was rebuilt in 832 to be used as a mosque. In 1149, after the city's conquest by the Christian Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona and

Ermengol VI of Urgell Ermengol or Armengol VI (10961154), called el de Castilla ("the one from Castile"), was the count of Urgell from 1102 until his death. He was the son and successor of Ermengol V and María Pérez, daughter of Count Pedro Ansúrez, Lord of Vall ...

(1149), the structure was reconsecrated as "Santa Maria Antiqua", and entrusted to

canons regular The Canons Regular of St. Augustine are Catholic priests who live in community under a rule ( and κανών, ''kanon'', in Greek) and are generally organised into Religious order (Catholic), religious orders, differing from both Secular clergy, ...

. In 1193, however, the

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

ordered the construction of a new edifice, following the contemporary Romanesque architectural canons, to master Pere de Coma. The first stone was laid in 1203 by King Peter II of Aragon and count

Ermengol VII of Urgell Ermengol or Armengol VII (died 1184) was the count of Urgell from 1154 until his death. He was called el de Valencia ("the one from Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and A ...

. Construction continued throughout the reign of James I of Aragon. It was consecrated to the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

on 31 October 1278. The cloisters not were completed until the 14th century. The bell tower was begun in 14th century and finished in 1431. The portal Porta dels Apòstols begun in the 14th and completed in 15th century. In 1707, the city was conquered by the troops of Philip V: the king ordered the destruction of the cathedral because it has taken a prominent part in the city's defense. Nevertheless, the order was never executed, and the cathedral was converted into barracks. The building was declared a national monument in 1918, and restoration works were started in 1950.

Description

The cathedral is designed in a transitional style between Romanesque and Gothic. It lacks almost any influence of

Islamic architecture Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both Secularity, secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Muslim world, Islamic world encompasse ...

. The floor plan is of a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

in a Latin cross with a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and two

aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...

s. The tower is octagonal with a central space of five

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

s. The interior was decorated in painted murals and sculpture, much of which is still preserved, but much of which has been despoiled during the War of Spanish Succession. The octagonal tower is in diameter at its base, but at the top. Its maximum height is and it contains 238 steps. A bell named ''Mònica'' announces the quarter-hours and one ''Silvestra'' announces the hours. The bells are of the international Gothic style of the 15th century. The cloister is unusually placed in front of the main entrance of the church, and is notable for both its rare opened gallery with views over the city and for its extraordinary size. In fact, this cloister has been regarded as one of the largest cloisters in Europe. This cloister has 17 ornate Gothic windows, each of them different. Among them, one could point out the Muslim window of "the palmtrees" and the central one of the westernmost wing, with a complex decoration which includes both a King David's Star and a

Christian cross The Christian cross, seen as representing the crucifixion of Jesus, is a religious symbol, symbol of Christianity. It is related to the crucifix, a cross that includes a ''corpus'' (a representation of Jesus' body, usually three-dimensional) a ...

References

Sources

Consorci Del Turó De La Seu Vella De Lleida - Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seu Vella Religion in Lleida Former mosques in Spain Churches converted from mosques 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain 15th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain Buildings and structures in Lleida Romanesque architecture in Catalonia Gothic architecture in Catalonia Roman Catholic cathedrals in Catalonia