Seville has a monumental wealth of great architectural and tourist value in which a series of monuments stand out.
Main buildings
Reales Alcázares
The Alcazar of Seville began to look like it is today after the year 713, when the city was conquered by the Arabs, who used it as a royal residence since 720. In 1248, after the Reconquest of Seville, he stayed at the Fernando III fortress. From then on, the Alcazar became the residence of the kings of Spain. At the moment it continues being residence of the Spanish Real Family, used by its members and diverse personalities of visit in the city.
The palace is the seat of several institutional acts, and the gardens are used in the summer for night concerts. The Unesco declared the whole palace and gardens Heritage Site in 1987.
Walking along the galleries and rooms decorated with beautiful tiles and admiring the Mudejar ceilings, from the lobby you reach the Patio de las Doncellas, main courtyard, a masterpiece of Andalusian Mudejar art. Here is the Hall of the Kings, the Hall of Charles V containing large tapestries of Brussels, the Hall of the Emperor with XV century tiles and Flemish tapestries and the famous Hall of Ambassadors, a room covered by a hemispherical dome adorned with elaborate arabesques Dorados, all have views of the patio. The last one is the most important room in the Alcázar.
Walking through the Jardines del Alcázar can be one of the most pleasant walks in Seville, where Arab, Renaissance and modern characters come together. They are arranged in terraces, with green vegetation, a multitude of orange and palm trees, with fountains and pavilions where freshness and quietness are breathed, a place for rest and relaxation in the hot city.
The Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 affected the architectural complex having to undergo major modifications, giving it then a baroque touch in the courtyard of the cruise.
Archive of the Indies
The Archivo General de Indias was created in 1785 by order of King Carlos III, with the aim of centralizing in a single place all the documentation referring to the Spanish colonies, which until then was distributed, mainly, in the archives of Simancas, Cádiz and Seville. The House Market of Merchants of Seville, built during the reign of Philip II between 1584 and 1598, by Juan de Mijares, on plans by Juan de Herrera, was chosen as the seat of the archive, a task that it carries out to this day (2008).
The first documents arrived in October 1785. From then on, in various batches, documents that until then had belonged to different institutions related to the Indies arrive on the file. Finally, the archive became the largest in terms of the number of documents of the Spanish administration in the New World and the Philippines.
As of 2008, the documents, arranged in a row, occupied more than nine kilometers. This is more than 43,100 files with some 80 million pages and 8,000 maps and drawings that come, mainly, from the metropolitan agencies in charge of the administration of the colonies.
In 2008 it was the largest archive on the activity of Spain in America and the Philippines containing information on political history and social history, economic history and mentalities, the history of the Church and the history of art or the geography of those territories. It holds a large number of pieces of great historical value: autographs by Christopher Columbus, Fernando de Magallanes, Vasco Núñez de Balboa, Hernán Cortés, Francisco Pizarro, all this documentation is at the service of the researchers, they pass through the archive every year.
The Archive is one of the general archives (together with that of the Crown of Aragon and that of Simancas ) belonging to the Spanish State. In 1987 it was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco next to the Cathedral, the Giralda and the Reales Alcázares de Sevilla.
The Archive is governed by the Board of the General Archive of the Indies, created by Royal Decree of June 34 (BOE June 25, 2005) in which the Ministry of Culture, the Junta de Andalucía, the City Council of Seville, the Council participate superior Scientific Research, the Universities of Seville, and is also ex officio members, different personalities from the world of culture.
Torre del Oro
The Torre del Oro, located on the banks of the Guadalquivir river, was ordered to be built by Ibn Uhla, the last Almohad governor of the city, in 1221. The initial purpose of the building was to protect the passage of the beach by building a wall from it to the Torre de la Plata. In fact, the current access door was, in fact, the one of the adarve of the wall; its level at ground level has been given by the ascension of the soil during the last centuries. The highest volume is an addition of 1760, the work of Sebastián Van der Borcht.
The tower served, in addition to prison in the Middle Ages and safe enclosure to keep, sometimes, precious metals brought periodically by the fleet of the Indies. Currently (2008) is Naval Museum. It contains engravings, marine charts, scale models, ancient instruments of sailing (sailing) as well as historical documents. Draw an image of the naval history of Seville, the importance of its river and the footprint of illustrious sailors.
It underwent in several occasions the attempt of demolition for diverse profits, the first time was after the earthquake of Lisbon of 1755 to which it survived, years later the damages that caused the earthquake in the tower were reconstructed. The second time he was in danger was during the Revolution of 1868, which was put up for sale to take advantage of their materials, the Sevillians rebelled against the demolition. In 2005 its last restoration was made, returning part of the splendor lost due to inclement weather, vandalism and air pollution.
Bullring of the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla
The bullring of the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla is considered one of the oldest bullfighting costumes in Spain. It is home to the bullfights of the city. It is considered one of the most popular centers of tourist attraction in the city and is among the most visited monuments of the same. It has capacity for 12,500 people.
The bullring began to be built in 1749 to replace the rectangular bullring located in the place and lasted its construction for many years, as it was done in phases, in 1765 the interior facade of the plaza called Palco del Prince this box consists of two bodies: the access door to the square and through which the victorious bullfighters leave, and the box itself, for the exclusive use of the Royal Family. Between 1914 and 1915 the laying in stone was reformed, changing it for a brick one, and all the lines were reconstructed to connect softer slopes.
There are statues of famous Sevillian bullfighters near the square, highlighting that of Curro Romero. The Bullfighting Museum of the Royal Cavalry, established in 1989, is under the stands of the bullring and was created in 1989.
Plaza of Spain
The Plaza de España in Seville is one of the largest open spaces of regional architecture. The architect Aníbal González was commissioned to build it for the Ibero – American Exposition of the year 1929. This exhibition was inaugurated from the plaza by Alfonso XIII.
Due to its dimensions, of 50,000 square meters, of which 19,000 are built and the remaining 31,000 are free space, and the channel that occupies 515 meters in length with 200 meters in diameter and an area of 14,000 square meters, make it one of the the most spectacular works of the Spanish panorama, with a mix of Mudejar, Gothic and Renaissance styles. The work began in 1914, finished in 1928 by architect Vicente Traver following the resignation of Aníbal González as architect director in 1926. It is located inside the María Luisa Park. Admission is free and access is closed after ten o’clock at night.
It has a semicircular shape that symbolizes the embrace of Spain and its former colonies and looks towards the river as a way to continue towards America. It is decorated with exposed brick, marble and ceramics giving it a Renaissance and Baroque touch in its towers.
It was the most expensive work of the exhibition and the only element outside it is the central source, also by Vicente Traver. The channel that it contains is crossed by 4 bridges that represent the 4 ancient kingdoms of Spain. On the walls there is a series of benches and tile ornaments that form spaces alluding to the 48 Spanish provinces; They represent maps of the provinces, mosaics of historical events and shields of each provincial capital.
Initially after finishing the exhibition his destiny was to be part of the University of Seville, that is the reason for the existing niches in each of the provinces. After having been used for its main purpose, it became part of the military government, serving its stays as the location of the General Captaincy, housing years later the delegation of the central Government in Andalusia and at the same time the Military Museum of Seville.
Other historical buildings
Construida entre 1595 y 1597, está situada en la Plaza de San Francisco. Ha sufrido numerosas reformas a la largo de su historia. Fue reformada en los siglos XVI y XIX y en 1924 Aníbal González recompuso la fachada e interior. La última gran remodelación se efectuó en 1983, de la mano de Rafael Manzano, recuperándose con todo su esplendor para Sede de la Caja de Ahorros Caja San Fernando, actualmente fusionada en la entidad Cajasol. Además posee una interesante colección pintura y escultura, entre las que se encuentran obras de Murillo o Gonzalo Bilbao, así como una colección de tapices Flamencos de los siglos XVI y XVII.
Provincial Historical Archive of Seville
Ateneo de Sevilla
Caños de Carmona
town hall
House of the King Moro
Corral del Coliseo
Costurer of the Queen
Hotel Alfonso XIII
Metropol Parasol de la Encarnación
Parliament of Andalusia (Former Hospital of the Five Wounds )
Royal Mint
Royal Tobacco Factory
Palace of San Telmo
Lope de Vega Theater
Palaces
Palaces
Main palaces
House of Pilatos
Palace of the Countess of Lebrija
Palace of the Dueñas
Palace of San Telmo
Yanduri Palace
House of Pinelo
Palace of Mañara
Palace of Altamira
Others
House of the Sirens
Palace of the Marquis of Dos Hermanas
House of the Eagles
Palace of the Marquises of Salinas
Old French school
Palace House of the current British Institute
Palace of the Marquises of Villapanés
Palace of the Counts of Santa Coloma
Palace of the Marquis of Pumarejo
Palace House in San Martín Square
House of the Guardiola, palace of Count Aguiar
Palace of Monsalves
Palace of the Marquis de la Motilla
Buildings of the twentieth century
Bank of Spain 1928, Antonio Illanes del Río
Old SENPA building in Calle Castelar, 1930-34, Juan J. López Sáez
Aurora Building in Avenida de la Constitución, 1933-1936, Antonio Illanes del Río
Elcano Building in Avenida de la Raza, 1953, J. Galnares Sagastizabal
Headquarters of the medical school in Avenida de la Borbolla, 1969-1974, Rafael de la Hoz Arderius and Gerardo Olivares
Headquarters of the official school of architects in Plaza del Cristo de Burgos, 1976-1979, Enrique Perea Caveda and Gabriel Ruiz Cabrero
Torre-Triana
Schindler Tower
Teatro de la Maestranza
Urbanism
Squares
Patio de Banderas
Plaza of America
Spain Square
Plaza del Triunfo
New Square
San Francisco Square
Plaza del Salvador
Doors of the Wall conserved
Door of the Macarena
Door of Córdoba
Oil Postigo
Postigo of the Jewish quarter
Parks and gardens
Alameda de Hércules
Parque del Alamillo
Maria Luisa Park
Princes Park
Amate Park
José Celestino Mutis Park
Metropolitan Park of La Cartuja
Gardens of the Real Alcázar
Gardens of Catalina de Ribera
Gardens of Murillo
Gardens of the Delights
American Garden
East Garden
Gardens of Cristina
Chapina Gardens
Gardens of the Buhaira
Gardens of San Telmo
Gardens of the Guadalquivir
Gardens of the Valley
Gardens of the Prado
Museums and galleries
Museum of Fine Arts
Archeological Museum
Museum of Popular Arts and Tradition
House of Memory of Al-Andalus
Andalusian Center for Contemporary Art
MP Contemporary Art Center
The Balcony of Andalusia
Carriage Museum
Museum of Geology
Historical Military Museum
Bullfighting Museum
Murillo House Museum
Flamenco Dance Museum
Treasure of the Cathedral of Seville
Tower of the Perdigones
Bridges
Bridge of the Barqueta
Bridge of Alamillo
Bridge of Delights
Bridge of the Christ of Expiration
Bridge of the Remedies
V Centennial Bridge
Bridge of San Juan
Bridge of San Telmo
Bridge of Triana
Queen Sofia Bridge
King Juan Carlos I Bridge
Source from Wikipedia