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The monuments of SevillaThe General Archive of the Indias Constructed in 1572 during the Golden Age of Seville, named the Casa Lonja de Mercaderes. Its main purpose was to offer a place for legal transactions betweens merchants who travelled from an to the Indias, and to counter the illegal transactions that took place during the time. The building was put into use in 1598 (according to an inscription on the northern facade, although construction continued until the second half of the 17th century). Nowadays the Archive stores all documents pertaining the New World, from the discovery to the independence of the colonies. Some famous documents are, for example, the autographs of the key players of the colonization, the diary of Columbus and plans of the first American cities. If you put all the documents in the Archive in a line you would have a line of paperwork of more than 9 kilometres. The Cathedral of Seville After the reconquest of Seville the mosque was converted into a cathedral, but in 1401 it was decided to build a new temple that would be, according to a canon, so big that everyone who sees it when it’s finished thinks we are crazy. And that was no exaggeration! It is the greatest Gothic temple of the world and the third Christian temple (after Saint Peter’s in the Vatican and Saint Paul’s in London). The Cathedral doesn’t follow the Gothic style entirely, because the head of the church doesn’t have the traditional apse and deambulatory, it is a perfect square. The central nave is the most impressing part of the Cathedral, with the choir and its big organs and the Capilla Mayor, that consists of 4 floors, where you can find the great altar. In the Capilla Real you can find the tombs of the royal family of that time and a statue of the patron of Seville, Santa Maria de los Reyes. The Giralda of Seville The Giralda is part of the Cathedral and when it was built, it was the highest tower of the world (97.5 metres) and it is the most famous building of Seville. The Giralda has various different parts that look united and is therefore an excellent example of the richness that the mixture of cultures offered Seville. The Muslim part incorporates stones for the old roman monuments on whose foundation it is built and because of this you can find roman inscriptions on various parts of the building. In the 16th century the belltower was added, designed by Hernán Ruiz and later on the part of the lilies, which consisted of 4 lilies, made of bronze that were put on every corner of the tower. Of notable interest is that the Giralda doesn’t have stairs, but 35 angled ramps, allowing the sultan Abu Yagub Yusuf to climb the tower by horse during his reign. The Plaza de España Designed by Aníbal Gonzalez in 1914 and finished in 1928 for the Iberoamerican Exposition of 1929. The square has a semicircular form, which symbolizes spain opening its arms for its former colonies. But there is more symbolism to be found on the square: the 4 bridges over the canal represent the 4 ancient kingdoms of Spain and a series of benches and ornaments form a representation of the 48 Spanish provinces. The square was also the scene for multiple famous movies like Lawrence of Arabia and Star Wars: Attack of the Clones The Torre del Oro The Tower was built in the 13th century by governor Abú l-Ulá and served to protect the entrance of the port. It also served as a prison in the Middle Ages. Now it is the naval museum. Over time different people and institutes have tried to let it be broken down, but every time the inhabitants of the city have protested and, up until now, the tower remains standing in its vertical position. The Plaza de Toros Like every Spanish city Seville has a bullfighting arena, but the Plaza de Toros in Seville is the oldest of Spain and is the place where the bullfighting takes place during the famous Feria de Abril. It is the main tourist attraction of the city. Construction began in 1749 and took many years, mainly because king Carlos III prohibited bullfighting in 1786. After his reign the work continued and finally in 1881 the arena was completed, it remained a semicircle during a long time. But since the work took so long, some rebuilding was necesarry in 1914, under guidance of the Sevillen architect Aníbal Gonzalez, who also designed the Plaza de España. What are you looking for in Sevilla? | ||
