History of Solsona

Solsona (cat. Solsona): in the times of the ancient Romans, this settlement was called Setelisis, then the Visigoths, like many other place names, added the suffix “- one” to it: this is how Celson appeared. The period of Saracens’ dominion, judging by the lack of historical evidence, passed unnoticed and lasted for a couple of generations.

The formation of Catalonia began around the year 870 thanks to Count Wifred the Hairy’s efforts (cat. El Comte Guifré el Pelós) to settle vacant lands. Recent studies indicate that this count was mortally wounded in the territory of the Solsonos region, namely, in the castle of the town of Canopy in the valley of the Aiguador River. https://all-andorra.com/history-of-spain-during-the-catalan-wars-solsona-never-took-the-side-of-the-spanish-crown-but-always-lost/

By the 10th century, Solsona was developing and a castle and a church appeared in it. The birth of a settlement around these two strongholds led to the double jurisdiction of Solsona: it submitted to both the Duke of Cardona and the bishop. Both seniors could not enter into their rights of the rulers of the settlement without taking an oath to keep the others’ customs and privileges.

The coat of arms of the city preserves the medieval symbols of their seniors: in the center is the cross of the monastery of St. Mary, on the left – the tower of the Tarroja family and on the right – the thistle of the dukes of Cardona. The sun shining over the cross appeared later.

Solsona played a very significant role in the reconquest of the Segarra and Penedès regions and the city of Lleida.