Solsona () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

and capital of the ''comarca'' of the Solsonès in the province of Lleida,

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 ...

. It has a population of . It is situated in the centre of the ''comarca'' in the Catalan Central Depression. It is served by the C-55 road to

Manresa Manresa () is the capital of Bages county, located in the central region of Catalonia, Spain. Crossed by the river Cardener, it is an industrial area with textile, metallurgical, and glass industries. The houses of Manresa are arranged aro ...

, and is linked to Berga and Bassella by the C-26. Until a few years ago, Solsona used to be the main road used by people from Barcelona to go to

Andorra Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...

. The name most probably derives from the Setelsis () mentioned by

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

as a town of the tribe of Iacetani in

Hispania Tarraconensis Hispania Tarraconensis was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania. It encompassed much of the northern, eastern and central territories of modern Spain along with modern North Region, Portugal, northern Portugal. Southern Spain, the region now ...

.Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), Setelsis
/ref> The old town is known as the ''Nucli antic'': it preserves a large part of its

fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

s. The

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 ...

of Santa Maria de Solsona and the episcopal palace are in a neoclassical style. The latter houses the diocesan and comarcal museum and the Museum of Salt (''Museu de la Sal''), with crystals and objects made from the salt of nearby Cardona. One of the most important events in the city is Carnaval, a pagan celebration that marks the beginning of the Quaresma. Tens of thousands of people come from all over Catalonia and beyond, to participate in the celebration that lasts almost one week. Solsona is home to one of the oldest hunters' association of Catalonia, which held its 75th anniversary in 2015. The city also hosts the only big research centre of Catalonia located outside an urban area, the Forest Sciences Centre of Catalonia (CTFC), with around 100 people employed.

Notable people

* Francesc Ribalta, painter, (1565–1628) * Cayetano Ripoll, martyr (1778 – 1826) * Roger Mas, singer–songwriter (born 1975) * Raül Garrigasait, translator, writer and editor (born 1979)

References

* Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria; Rios Calvet, Jaume; Rabella Vives, Josep Maria (1989). ''Guia de Catalunya'', Barcelona: Caixa de Catalunya. (Spanish). (Catalan). * Forest Sciences Centre of Catalonia CTFC, with headquarters in Solsona is a leading forest and biodiversity research centre

External links

*
Government data pages
Municipalities in Solsonès Populated places in Solsonès {{Spain-geo-stub