After our tour of the Alcazar, we continued to visit the Cathedral of Seville. It is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world and the third-largest church in the world. The cathedral was built to demonstrates Sevilla’s importance as a major center of trade after the Reconquista. The builders who started the cathedral in 1401 set the goal: “Let a church so beautiful and so great that those who see it built will think we were mad”.
Like so many other buildings in Spain, the cathedral was built on the former site of a mosque. All of the mosque was destroyed except the orange tree patio and the minaret or tower. The builders of the cathedral added a Gothic bell tower to the top of the minaret to form what is now referred to as the Giralda and is the most iconic landmark in Sevilla. Inside, the mammoth columns and towering ceilings are simply breathtaking, as is the climb up the Giralda where the Sevilla skyline picture was taken.
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