Seville Cathedral

When Seville's cathedral chapter decided in July 1401 to replace the old mosque that had served as their church, they wanted a building with no equal. A later tradition gives them a bolder line: let us build a church so large that people will think us mad. By the time it was finished in the early 16th century, it was the largest cathedral in the world, taking the title from Hagia Sophia. The Gothic body alone is 126 metres long and 76 metres wide, with a central nave that rises to 42 metres, and it remains the largest Gothic cathedral anywhere.

The cathedral was built on the footprint of the great Almohad mosque of the 1170s, and two parts of it survive. The minaret, begun in 1184 and modelled on the Koutoubia in Marrakesh, became the bell tower called the Giralda; in the 16th century Hernán Ruiz the Younger added a Renaissance belfry, crowned in 1568 by the bronze weathervane figure known as the Giraldillo. The tower is 104.5 metres tall and is climbed by ramps rather than stairs. The mosque's ablutions court survives as the Patio de los Naranjos, planted with orange trees and entered through the horseshoe-arched Door of Forgiveness.

Inside, the scale is best felt from the side aisles. The enormous main altarpiece, begun in 1482 by the Dutch artist Pieter Dancart and finished more than a century later, is a wall of gilded wood with scenes from the life of Christ. Among the 80 chapels are the Royal Chapel, where Ferdinand III, who took Seville in 1248, and his son Alfonso the Wise are buried, and the baptistery, with Murillo's Vision of Saint Anthony; in 1874 thieves cut out the figure of the saint, which surfaced for sale in New York the next year and was recovered. Christopher Columbus is also buried here; his monument, conceived as a funeral procession borne by four heralds, has stood in the cathedral since 1899.

The crossing vault collapsed twice, in 1511 and again after an earthquake in 1888. Since 1987 the cathedral has shared a UNESCO listing with the neighbouring Alcázar and the Archive of the Indies, a reminder of the wealth that made Seville a great trading city after 1248. The cathedral also offers guided visits to the roofs.

Getting there

The cathedral stands in the historic centre of Seville, next to the Alcázar. Seville Airport (SVQ) is about 10 km away.