Solsona

Solsona is a municipality in the province of Lleida in Catalonia, Spain, and the capital of the comarca of the Solsones. It lies in the centre of the comarca in the Catalan Central Depression and is served by the C-55 road to Manresa and the C-26 to Berga and Bassella. The register office counted 9,717 residents in 2025. Its name most probably derives from the Setelsis that Ptolemy mentioned as a town of the Iacetani tribe in Hispania Tarraconensis. The old town, known as the Nucli antic, preserves much of its fortifications, and the neoclassical cathedral of Santa Maria de Solsona and the episcopal palace stand there; the palace houses the diocesan and comarcal museum and the Museum of Salt, which shows objects made from the salt of nearby Cardona. The Carnaval before Lent draws tens of thousands of visitors, and the town hosts the Forest Sciences Centre of Catalonia, a research centre outside any large urban area.