Seu Vella and King's Castle or La Suda
Description
With the Moors and Christians Festival, the city has proudly recovered a lost tradition that dates from the 12th century.
Lleida is the city where the oldest origins of Moors and Christian festivals have been documented. This is documented in 1150, months after the Count of Barcelona and Prince of Aragon, Ramon Berenguer IV, brought the Christian flag into the Muslim Madina Larida.
This celebration takes place throughout the year and, apart from the parade and subsequent battle, other gatherings are organized to experience the Festival: the start of the season, the Half Year Festival or the presentation of new members.
In September, they also recreate the ceremony and banquet for the royal wedding of Ramon Berenguer IV and Petronilla, in the hill of the Seu Vella.
Program
The festive weekend begins, in la Paeria square, with the Embassies, the parliaments of the Moors and Christian ambassadors beforehand to avoid the (last) battle that will take place on Sunday, the big day of the festival.
On Sunday morning, child’s procession take place and then presented the Lleida’s Band playing traditional music. In the afternoon the groups of Moors and Christians are joined in the Seu Vella to parade with their colorful uniforms in the main streets.
Before nightfall, they start a satirical speech that cause a verbal confrontation that follows the spectacular battle, with the incomparable framework of the Seu Vella, the castle that crowns the city as a backdrop.
Observations
- The 2023/2024 program of activities is pending publication.
- The recreation of the Royal Wedding takes place on September 25, 2023 in the Seu Vella.
- For more information contact the Moors and Christians Festival Association.
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Related places of interest
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Cultural, historical and architectural heritage -
Cultural, historical and architectural heritage The Palace of the Paeria
