The church in front of you is not like the others. It is surprisingly bare. There's no stained glass anywhere. Nor is there the altarpiece which used to top the main altar, of polychrome alabaster, nor the choir located in the central nave. The chapels have practically no paintings, there are very few... This emptiness is the result of its transformation into military barracks in 1707, when the city of Lleida surrendered to the Bourbon troops of King Philip V in the War of the Spanish Succession. It was used this way until 1948, although it’s also worth remembering that during the Spanish Civil War the cathedral served, temporarily, as a concentration camp for Republican prisoners waiting to be evacuated to the Francoist rearguard.

During this extremely long period of two and a half centuries, the church, but also the cloister and canonical house, were divided into different floors for the housing of troops, as well as to make room for storage rooms, stables and latrines. At the same time, the artistic heritage was broken, mutilated, burned and profaned. However, some objects and altarpieces were successfully rescued, relocated to various warehouses and parishes in the diocese of Lleida. You’ll be able to see a good selection of these ornaments if you visit the Diocesan and County Museum of Lleida. To verify the state of the cathedral in military times or see images of the first restoration work in the mid-20th century, we recommend viewing the exhibit 1707, Infelicem Annum.