Lleida

Lleida stands on the Segre beneath a hill crowned by the old cathedral, the Seu Vella. A city of ancient and Muslim origins, it became an important centre of learning under the Crown of Aragon. In 1300 James II granted a charter for its Estudi General, attracting students from the crown’s lands and beyond. Lleida’s position also exposed it to war. During the Catalan revolt a Spanish army besieged the Franco-Catalan garrison in 1644, taking the city after fierce fighting. The university survived that conflict, but its old Estudi General was closed by royal decree in 1717, after the War of the Spanish Succession.