Castell de Ciutat, La Seu d'Urgell

The Castell de Ciutat stands on a hill in the upper valley of the Segre. Located in the municipality of Seo de Urgel in Catalonia, it is situated next to the town of Castellciutat, which was an independent municipality until the 1970s.

In this place a settlement was established, an oppidum during the Bronze Age. The Romans colonised the mountain during the 9th century AD. From the 9th century onwards, it became the official residence of the Counts of Urgel. In 1135 a new stage began: Count Ermengol IV of Urgel ceded Castellciutat to Viscount Pedro I of Castellbó.

With the French invasion of 1691, the weakness of the defence of the square of Seo de Urgel led General Baró de Preu, in collaboration with the Italian engineer Ambrosio Borsano, to begin the construction of the bastioned fortification that we see today.

The War of the Spanish Succession, the French invasion of 1719 and the Roussillon War of 1793 had important episodes in the Castell de Ciutat. The castle was occupied without interruption until the early years of the 20th century. Abandoned for years, in 1970 it was acquired by the Tàpies family with the intention of restoring its historical part and turning it into a tourist complex.

With the arrival of the 21st century, the Castell de Ciutat is an important historical-tourist complex made up of the old castle, the bastioned fortress and a 4-star hotel located at the foot of the hill associated with Relais & Châteaux.