Festivals and Traditions

Throughout the year, there are plenty of cultural events you can experience and in which you can take part.

Urgell people’s enthusiasm, aspirations and desire to preserve their roots are present in the city’s cultural life throughout the year. The city is home to endless fun and cultural activities:

Calderada de Sant Antoni

17 January.
On Passeig Joan Brudieu, locals gather to tuck into stew made by the Brotherhood of Sant Antoni. The day involves a Solemn Mass, during which the Sant Antoni bread is given out, an animal blessing and a tradition known as the Tres Tombs, where the festival’s flag bearers take horses on three laps around the area.

Sant Sebastià

20 January. Local festival.
Local festival On 20 January, Saint Sebastian’s day, La Seu d’Urgell commemorates its devotion to this saint through the Brotherhood that bears his name. Under the ravages of the plague in the mid-fourteenth century, La Seu, like many other Catalan towns and villages, dedicated itself to Saint Sebastian, who was thought to protect against cholera. Apart from this day, the Brotherhood promotes a range of other cultural and popular initiatives, not to mention their important work in recovering the traditional caramelles, sung by a group of nearly 100 singers at Easter. The Brotherhood of Saint Sebastian also takes part in the Good Friday Procession, the ‘tuna’ music group during Carnival, and many other popular and folk events.

Pyrenees Games Festival

April
For a whole weekend, the city’s Sant Domènec Hall is transformed into a world of play, with games, activities and workshops for all the family.

Easter Procession

Good Friday.
The main streets of La Seu d’Urgell’s historic centre are the stage for the traditional Good Friday Procession. Over the past few years, this popular event has become the biggest in the Pyrenees and one of the most significant of its kind in all of Catalonia. It dates back to 1603.

Els Canonges Medieval Market

First weekend in June.
Can you imagine what everyday life was like in the Middle Ages? ‘The historic centre of La Seu goes back in time. Artisanal products and performances all around, throughout the day.’

Sant Ot

7 July
Local festival. The city’s patron saint.

Sant Cristòfol

14 July.
Patron saint of drivers and travellers. Blessing of vehicles on Passeig Joan Brudieu

Pyrenees Early Musical Festival (FeMAP)

Summer.
This festival was created in 2011. It is currently made up of 37 towns that put on over 52 concerts all over the Pyrenees.

La Seu d’Urgell Festa Major

Last Sunday in August.
With the traditional Ball Cerdà dance, considered part of Catalonia’s festival heritage.

Sant Ermengol Fair

Third weekend in October
La Seu’s most outstanding fairs include the Sant Ermengol Fair, which encompasses the Pyrenees Artisanal Cheese Fair.

The Magical World of the Mountains

Christmas
The city is filled with magic during the Christmas holidays. They say that the first Christmas Log, a popular Catalan tradition, came from the woods of La Seu.