Battle of Lleida (1642)

Lleida (IPA: [ˈʎejða]) listen: , known in Spanish as Lérida (IPA: [ˈleɾiða]), is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It is also the capital city of the Segrià comarca, as well as the largest city in the province. It had 137,387 inhabitants as of 2010, including the contiguous towns of Raimat and Sucs. Lleida is one of the oldest towns in Catalonia, with recorded settlements dating back to the Bronze Age period. Until the Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, the area served as a settlement for an Iberian people, the Ilergetes. The town became a municipality, named Ilerda, under the reign of Augustus. It was ruled by the Moors from the 8th century, and reconquered in 1149. In 1297, the University of Lleida was founded, becoming the third oldest in the whole of Spain. During the following centuries, the town was damaged by several wars such as the Reapers' War in the 17th century and the Spanish Civil War in the 20th century. Since then, the city has been in constant urban, commercial and demographic growth.

L'Aplec del Caragol is a meeting that is held annually, on a weekend in May, on the banks of the river Segre and the Champs Elysees in Lleida since 1980. It is a gastronomic event where snails are the protagonists and which incorporates music, brass bands and parades through the city. In 2010 there were 200,000 visitors and twelve tons of snails were consumed. These are shipped in from Spain, North Africa and South America. Apart from the snail feast, the event includes numerous other activities such as concerts and charanga music, castells, performances, and competitions.

Rambla de Ferran - Estació is a neighborhood in Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. As of 2009, it had 3,823 inhabitants. It is named after the Lleida Pirineus railway station located in the area, as well as for the Rambla de Ferran avenue. It is bordered (clockwise starting from the northeast) by the neighborhoods of Pardinyes, Cappont, Centre Històric and Príncep de Viana - Clot.

The Fountain of the Mermaid of Lleida is a fountain in the Parc des Champs Elysees in Lleida, Catalonia, Spain, which features a statue of a mermaid holding a conch out of which water flows. The fountain is surrounded by a garden. The original deteriorating statue of a nymph was replaced by the mermaid in 1982. It is the city's second most-visited site, after the cathedral La Seu Vella.

Lleida Pirineus ("Lleida Pyrenees") is an important railway station serving the city of Lleida in Catalonia, Spain. It is located between the neighbourhoods of Pardinyes and Rambla de Ferran. The first train services in Lleida date of 1860, but the station wasn't built until 1927, and it did not adopt its current official name until 2003, when it underwent an ambitious reform. As a transport hub connecting the interior of Spain with the Corredor Mediterráneo, it serves both broad gauge and standard gauge trains, operated by both Adif-Renfe and Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya. It is the terminus of several regional railway services centered in Aragon and Catalonia. It's also one of the stations on the Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line, and it was its north-eastern terminus until 2008.

Cappont (Catalan pronunciation: [ˌkapˈpɔn], often spelled Cap-Pont) is a neighbourhood in Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. It stretches along the eastern bank of the Segre river. Cappont contains the city's largest park, the Camps Elisis, and a University of Lleida campus. The district had 11,612 inhabitants as of 2008.

Auditori Enric Granados is the main concert hall in Lleida (Catalonia, Spain) also hosting the city's music conservatory. It contains a symphonic hall with 803 seats and a chamber music hall with a capacity of 245. This music institution is named after the composer Enric Granados, who was born in Lleida in 1867. Located on Plaça Mossèn Cinto Verdaguer, the building was designed by local architects Ramon Artigues and Ramon Sanabria and opened in 1994 after ten years of construction and was officially inaugurated by Queen Sofía of Spain on 14 February 1995. Ancient remains of Lleida were found under the venue. The building was used as the primary location for the short film Sonata in Motion. The venue has held many concerts by Spanish singers, such as Luz Casal or El Cigala.

La Llotja de Lleida is a theatre and congress centre in Lleida (Catalonia, Spain). It opened its doors in January 2010, and is owned by the city council. Giuseppe Verdi's Il Trovatore premiered there on 21 January that year. Its two congress halls, called A and B, have capacity for 400 and 200 people, while the main auditory, Sala Ricard Vinyes, has 1000 seats. It's located in Pardinyes, next to the river Segre and the Lleida Pirineus railway station, on the site of a former municipal market. The animation film festival Animac moved to La Llotja de Lleida in February 2010, on the occasion of its 14th edition.On 23 March 2010, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia of Spain officially opened La Llotja de Lleida.

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 church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lleida, in Lleida, Catalonia, Spain, 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.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.

The Palace of La Paeria is the name the city hall of Lleida, Catalonia, Spain, which currently houses the city council. The see is located on Plaça de la Paeria. Lleida's mayor is called Paer en cap, a term also used for Cervera's mayor. The term paer derives from Latin paciarum, meaning "man of peace". This title was given to Lleida's mayor as a special privilege by king James I The Conqueror in 1264. Lleida's Paeria is an example of Catalan Gothic. The façade includes all of the usual elements found in the works of this medieval architectural school

Pardinyes is a neighbourhood in Lleida (Catalonia). It is a 1920s to mid-20th century urban development grown out of new architecture built on former agricultural land between Balàfia and the River Segre. It was originally divided in Pardinyes Baixes and Pardinyes Altes, divided by the railroad tracks with the station Lleida Pirineus in the vicinity. The latter neighbourhood was initially populated by railway workers and later industrial workers, until in 1979 the freight train station was reconverted into public facilities and industry moved to other areas of the town. With some 12,000 inhabitants, it still retains a good deal of its village-ish aspect, specially at the right side of Rambla de Pardinyes.The city's biggest park, La Mitjana, is part of Pardinyes. It is home to the football team CF Pardinyes. In 2010 the former peasants' market by the river, which had been closed and abandoned for years, was replaced by a theatre and convention centre called La Llotja de Lleida.

Siege of Lleida took place between 13 May - 30 July 1644 during the Reapers' War when a Spanish force under Felipe da Silva besieged and attacked the Franco-Catalan garrison of the town of Lleida - after intense fighting the town finally surrendered on 30 July. Philippe de La Mothe-Houdancourt, who failed to lift the Spanish siege was replaced by Henri de Lorraine, count of Harcourt. the Spanish took Balaguer in September and Agramunt in October. After the conquest of Roses, the frontline stabilized for many years, until the Spanish Siege of Barcelona (1651).