Holiday cottages Segarra

Curiosities of La Segarra

We could think that after the Saracen occupation, the name Segarra was of Arab origin, as is the case with the vast majority of towns in the province of Lleida. But the truth is that Segarra has an Iberian origin, since it comes from the Iberian city of Sikarra , located in the municipality of Prats de Rei.

This county is located on a plateau of the Central Depression . Its territory, slightly undulating, is ideal for rainfed cultivation , especially cereals.

Notes on the history of the territory to prepare your break in a holiday cottage

The region that La Segarra now occupies has been continuously inhabited since the Neolithic. Before the Roman occupation, La Segarra belonged to the Lacetans , an Iberian tribe, and it was precisely in the area occupied by present-day Guissona that the Romans founded the important city of Lesso around 100 BC. This city came to have an extension of 20,000 square meters and was named by classics such as Pliny the Elder and Ptolemy.

During the reconquest, La Segarra played an important role, as it became the border line, specifically in the Sió river valley . In this location, numerous castles and defensive towers were built, which are now part of the historical and cultural heritage of the region.

An important moment in the history of this region was when Philip V, after the War of the Succession, abolished the seven Catalan universities then existing (Lleida, Barcelona, Girona, Tarragona, Tortosa, Solsona and Vic) to create a central in Cervera, which brought wealth and reputation to the region.

What can you do in Segarra during your stay in a holiday cottage?

You won't get bored in La Segarra, as there are countless things to see and discover related to its history. An example is the Archaeological Park of Lesso, the important Roman city that once occupied this territory, specifically in present-day Guissona. The Eduard Camps Museum in Guissona preserves the pieces from the site.

The Middle Ages left an important mark on this region; castles and defensive towers extend throughout the territory. You will find a good example of Romanesque art in the church of Sant Esteve de Pelagalls , from the s. XII. So is the monastery of Sant Celdoni and Sant Ementer de Cellers , from the 12th century, a unique example of Romanesque-Byzantine style in Catalunya.

The town of Sant Ramon cannot be without a visit to see the Sanctuary of Sant Ramon Nonat , from the 13th century, and the baroque monastery of Sant Ramon del Portell (17th-18th centuries).

Cervera, a historic capital

Cervera was a strategic capital for the monarchs and the cultural center of Catalunya , a fact that has endowed it with a great architectural heritage and a valuable cultural legacy. The old town was walled in the 14th century by Pere III the Ceremonious and has been declared an Asset of Cultural Interest.

Cervera was conquered by the Arabs, who named it Hnis Dhervera, and recovered by Guillem de Cervera in 1035 . It always belonged to the Catalan-Aragonese Crown. During the 15th century the municipality became a center of great importance and with the privilege of minting currency. Later, Felipe V created the university there.

It was in Cervera, specifically in the architectural complex of the Company of Jesus , where the Catalan Courts met in 1358 and 1359 to agree on the creation of the Generalitat de Catalunya and in 1452 the marriage agreements of the Catholic Kings were signed.

Industry arrived in the 19th century, affecting a growing population and the inauguration of the railway marked an era of prosperity for Cervera in the 20th century.

What can you see in Segarra during your stay in a holiday cottage?

Cervera is a must-see to see all the monuments that define it and to visit the Regional Museum and the Wheat and Peasant Museum . Strolling along the town's main street can make you lose track of time as you contemplate the stately houses of the Middle Ages, the old Sant Joan Hospital (12th century) and the Sabater or Marqués de Capmany house , where traditionally ended the town. Other important complexes are the Architectural Complex of the Company of Jesús, the Joan house (typical stately building of La Segarra), the Sant Agustí convent and the Duran i Sanpere house . But Cervera you don't finish it! The Collegiate Church of Santa Maria , the Paeria (Baroque-style building) and the University (1717) are essential monuments on your trip to Cervera.

It is very nice to take the Passeig de l'Estació , inaugurated with the arrival of the railway in the town and through which you can contemplate the bourgeois houses and many modernist elements such as the lampposts that illuminate the street or the César Martinell Union . And the chapel of Sant Pere Gros , a temple from the s. XI with a circular plan, it is well worth considering that it is the only witness of an old Benedictine priory.

Another place to visit in the region, which we have mentioned previously, is the Archaeological Park of Lesso , the ancient city of the year 100 BC, in the region of present-day Guissona, and the Eduard Camps de Guissona Museum.

La Segarra, land of castles

The region is known as the land of castles due to the large number of fortifications it contains. During the XI-XII centuries, the root of the natural division of the Sió River Valley , in this region the border between the Christian Catalan lands and Al-Andalus was drawn. Later, these castles became stately homes, seats of a feudalism that lasted until the 19th century.

Some of these castles are Concabella Castle , which contains the interpretation center, Pallargues Castle , currently used as a house, Montcortés Castle , currently unused, Florejacs Castle, used as private house that is part of the walled complex of the town of Florejacs , the Sitges Castle , with a typical medieval appearance and from where you can get a panoramic view of the region and the Torre de Vallferosa , considered one of the constructions most interesting sX defenses in Europe.

Get to know the legend of Florejacs if you want to go to La Segarra in a holiday cottage

The legend of the walled town of Florejacs tells that the town's name comes from the Lady of the Flowers, according to which a maiden of great beauty turned those men she liked into flowers after she had been with them. The lady made them smell an enchanted flower that turned them into a flower that the maiden planted in the castle garden. When the king found out, he condemned her to death and since then, the ghost of the maiden is sometimes seen walking around the town with a flower in her hand.