Plaça de Sant Joan, Platz in Spanien
Plaça de Sant Joan is a rectangular square in the heart of Lleida's old city, dominated by the neogothic church of Sant Joan built in the late 1800s. The square is surrounded by low-rise buildings, and beneath a modern walkway lies an exhibition hall displaying the remains of an earlier Romanesque church that stood here in the 1100s.
The site was documented as an open space as early as 1149, with the church of Sant Joan already present by 1168. The square was enlarged in 1440 to connect two main streets, and thrived from the 1500s through the 1600s as a lively center for festivals and public gatherings.
The square has served as a gathering place for the city for centuries, where locals still come to meet and spend time together. The church of Sant Joan visually dominates the space, while the ancient remains visible in the underground exhibition room below the walkway remind visitors of the layers of human activity that accumulated here over time.
The square is easily accessible on foot in the historic center where visitors can see multiple historical sites in one visit. A modern elevator provides access to the Seu Vella, the old cathedral perched on the hill above the city, making it convenient to explore both locations together.
In the 1970s, archaeologists uncovered the foundations of the original Sant Joan Vell, a Romanesque church from the 1100s, buried beneath the square. The remains are now visible in the underground exhibition space, offering a rare glimpse of how a medieval church was actually constructed and where people once worshiped centuries ago.
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