Cathedral

The Cathedral Santa María de la Sede is not only the largest Gothic cathedral of Christianity, but also reflects the transition from Muslim to Christian society after the reconquest.

Built on the foundations of the great mosque of Seville, the construction of the cathedral became a mammoth project at the beginning of the 15^th century. Master builders and craftsmen from North Spain, France, Flanders and Germany became the supporting pillars in the construction of the church, which was to become ground-breaking for the development of Christian art in Andalusia.

During a detailed tour, you will discover the unusual structure of the cathedral and its most important art treasures. Moorish style elements mix here with Gothic, renaissance, mannerism and baroque. The biggest altar piece of the Christian world, the Bible of the Poor, surprises with its detailed Bible scenes decorated in gold. The colourful church windows, partly from the 15th century, are among the best in Spain. Outstanding paintings by Murillo, Zurbarán and Goya as well as wooden sculptures of the great masters Martínez Montañes and Pedro Roldán adorn the side chapels. The age of explorers comes to life through the Tomb of Columbus and the chapel Virgen de la Antigua.

Even the outer area of the cathedral has lot of surprises. You can find here the traces of the former main mosque of Seville. Thus, the Giralda bell tower was once a minaret and the Orange Court was used by devout Muslims as a place for their ritual ablutions.

Auch der Auβenbereich der Kathedrale birgt manche Überraschung. Hier finden sich noch Spuren der ehemaligen Hauptmoschee Sevillas. So war der Glockenturm Giralda einst ein Minarett und der Orangenhof diente gläubigen Muslimen als Ort für ihre rituellen Waschungen.

The Gradas, flight of stairs on the north side of the cathedral, served international businessmen in the 16^th century as a trading place for their American business as well as for slave trade.