Seville Cathedral and Giralda

Our First Trip to Spain April 6-18, 2005

Seville Cathedral and Giralda
La Giralda

looking up at the cathedral of Seville

The Cathedral of Seville is the third largest temple in the Christian world, exceeded only by Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome and Saint Paul's Cathedral in London. It was built over the main Almohad mosque of Seville of the 9th century. The Giralda, the tower now housing the bells, was originally the minaret of the 9th century mosque.

entering the cathedral for our tour

looking up as we were about to enter It is truely awesome, how huge the Cathedral is when you get close. This door isn't one of the more spectacular, but it is beside the one where tourists enter.

After passing through a museum area with some of the many art treasures and an interior courtyard, we entered the actual church. WOW!

The supporting columns were so large and the interior so peaceful, Artie and I were both reminded of being among giant sequoia trees in California. But here, all of this was made by man for God, rather than by God for man.

Although the fundamental construction work of the building was done between 1401 and 1508, four centuries were necessary to achieve its current profile. Generations of craftsmen must have spent their entire lives working here.

On the southern side of the nave is a monument to Cristopher Columbus. His coffin is supported by sculptures of the four kings representing the medieval kingdoms of Spain: Castile, León, Aragón, and Navarra.

a view from beside Christopher Columbus's tomb

Cristián told us that only half of his remains are here. We wondered about that. Where else was he? Which half was here? I found out after a Google Search that the Dominican Republic claims that they still have all of his remains in a monument there, that Spain made a mistake and took away the wrong coffin. There is still a question about allowing what they have to undergo DNA testing by Spanish experts. The remains of Christopher Columbus have been the subject of controversy for centuries, with 4 cities striving for possession. Spain gave some ashes from their coffin to the City of Genoa.

The choir of the cathedral The Choir of the Cathedral is one of many special and beautiful spots here. It intrieged me to see this, since the choirmaster is one of Cristián's professors.

Below is the Main Chapel, dominated by a vast Gothic retablo comprised of 45 carved scenes from the life of Christ. The lifetime's work of a single craftsman, Pierre Dancart, this is the ultimate masterpiece of the cathedral - the largest and richest altarpiece in the world and one of the finest examples of Gothic woodcarving anywhere, covered by an amazing amount of gold leaf. The area is closed by a magnificant grille of golden iron, made in the plateresque style of the early Rennaissance, whose rich ornamentation resembles silversmith's work.

one last interior view the door of Forgiveness from the Patio of Orange Trees

Here's one final interior view of the cathedral and an outside view from a bench in the Patio of Orange Trees. This courtyard was part of the original mosque. Orange trees are very common throughout the city of Seville and, at least in the springtime, the aroma of orange blossoms is in the air. We reentered the nave from the courtyard to enter the Giralda. The wooden crocodile hanging over the entrance is thought to have been a gift from the emir of Egypt in 1260 as he sought the hand of the daughter of Alfonso the Wise.

The Giralda is the most famous sight in Seville and its most popular symbol. It stands 322 feet, including the Giraldillo, the sculpture on top that serves as a weathervane.

The Cathedral Council commissioned architect Hernán Ruiz to remodel the tower’s top in 1558. The project lasted ten years and successfully blended the architecture of two different cultures separated in time by four centuries.

Originally used as a minaret, the way up consists of a series of 35 ramps with windows on all 4 sides. Each turn on the way up is labeled with arabic numbers. Except for the 1, which looks more like a J, these are the same numbers that we use today. The picture shows the 10th one.

When the minaret was built, the muezzin was an old man. It was built so that he could ride his horse up to the top to call the people to prayer.

After their surrender, the Moslems asked for permission to destroy the mosque and tower before they left the city, but Prince Don Alfonso warned them that if a single brick were to be removed, they would all be stabbed to death.

Some of the 25 bells in the bellroom at the top of the Giralda, but these weren't what we walked up to see.

The Giralda is the highest vantage point in the city, so the views from the windows all around are wonderful and very interesting. Here you can see a corner of the cathedral and some of the Alcazar or royal palaces.

More of the Cathedral shows in the foreground below, including the patio of orange trees.

And with zooming in on the background we can see what will be our next stop, the famous Real Maestranza, or Seville's Bullfighting Ring.

On the southern side of the nave is a monument to Cristopher Columbus. His coffin is supported by sculptures of the four kings representing the medieval kingdoms of Spain: Castile, León, Aragón, and Navarra.

Cristián told us that only half of his remains are here. We wondered about that. Where else was he? Which half was here? I found out after a Google Search that the Dominican Republic claims that they still have all of his remains in a monument there, that Spain made a mistake and took away the wrong coffin. There is still a question about allowing what they have to undergo DNA testing by Spanish experts. The remains of Christopher Columbus have been the subject of controversy for centuries, with 4 cities striving for possession. Spain gave some ashes from their coffin to the City of Genoa.

		The Choir of the Cathedral is one of many special and beautiful spots here. It intrieged me to see this, since the choirmaster is one of Cristián's professors.
		Below is the Main Chapel, dominated by a vast Gothic retablo comprised of 45 carved scenes from the life of Christ. The lifetime's work of a single craftsman, Pierre Dancart, this is the ultimate masterpiece of the cathedral - the largest and richest altarpiece in the world and one of the finest examples of Gothic woodcarving anywhere, covered by an amazing amount of gold leaf. The area is closed by a magnificant grille of golden iron, made in the plateresque style of the early Rennaissance, whose rich ornamentation resembles silversmith's work.


Here's one final interior view of the cathedral and an outside view from a bench in the Patio of Orange Trees. This courtyard was part of the original mosque. Orange trees are very common throughout the city of Seville and, at least in the springtime, the aroma of orange blossoms is in the air. We reentered the nave from the courtyard to enter the Giralda. The wooden crocodile hanging over the entrance is thought to have been a gift from the emir of Egypt in 1260 as he sought the hand of the daughter of Alfonso the Wise.

The Giralda is the most famous sight in Seville and its most popular symbol. It stands 322 feet, including the Giraldillo, the sculpture on top that serves as a weathervane.
		The Cathedral Council commissioned architect Hernán Ruiz to remodel the tower’s top in 1558. The project lasted ten years and successfully blended the architecture of two different cultures separated in time by four centuries.


Some of the 25 bells in the bellroom at the top of the Giralda, but these weren't what we walked up to see.

More of the Cathedral shows in the foreground below, including the patio of orange trees.

And with zooming in on the background we can see what will be our next stop, the famous Real Maestranza, or Seville's Bullfighting Ring.