SEVILLE CATHEDRAL

Our 1st day in Seville we set out to explore the sights. The Cathedral was a short walk from our hotel in a beautiful square filled with horses and carriages awaiting customers.

Built on the site of a Mosque the Cathedral is the 3rd largest church, and the largest Gothic Building in Europe. It was completed in just over a century(1402-1506) quite a feat considering its size and Gothic details.

Measured by area, Seville Cathedral is the third largest in Europe after after St. Paul's Cathedral in London and St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, but measured by volume, it surpasses them both.
The total area covers 11,520 square meters. The central nave (the longest in Spain) rises to 42 meters.

Entering the Cathedral the first impression is of gold - gold is everywhere. Just inside the South entrance is the tomb of Christopher Columbus. His remains were removed from Havana in 1902 following the Cuban revolution.

The Center of the Cathedral is dominated by an incredible Gothic altarpiece. The supreme masterpiece of the cathedral was the life's work of a single craftsman, Fleming Pieter Dancart. Composed of 45 carved scenes from the life of Christ, it is carved in wood and covered with staggering amounts of gold. It is the largest and richest altarpiece in the world.

The 15th Century stained glass rose window.

To the left of the Cathedral is the entrance to the wonderful Moorish minaret, La Giralda, which now functions as the cathedral's bell tower. It is well worth climbing to the top, but being there when the bells are rung is a deafening experience.
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Climbing La Giralda provides many different views on the way up the circular stairway, and from the top one can look over all of Seville.