Walls of Seville

Walls of Seville
Native name
Spanish: Murallas de Sevilla
Location Sevilla, Spain
Coordinates 37°24′07″N 5°59′12″W / 37.401976°N 5.986553°WCoordinates: 37°24′07″N 5°59′12″W / 37.401976°N 5.986553°W
Official name: Murallas de Sevilla
Type Non-movable
Criteria Monument
Designated 1908[1]
Reference no. RI-51-0000093
Location of Walls of Seville in Spain

The Walls of Seville (Spanish: Murallas de Sevilla) are walls located in Sevilla, Spain. The walls of Seville were a military perimeter surrounding the old town of Seville from the Roman period with continuous remodeling, resulting from the vicissitudes experienced throughout the history of the city during its Roman, Visigoth, Islamic periods, and finally Castilian. It survived until the nineteenth century then were partially demolished after the revolution of 1868. Most of the walls today are mainly conserved in the neighborhood of the Macarena and the surroundings of the Alcazar of Seville. There were up to eighteen gates and accesses, of which only four remain: the gate of the Macarena, the Córdoba Gate, the Gate of Oil, and the Alcazar. Conserved wall currently maintain a clear aspect the Almohad influence, mixed with classicist style who provided the restoration of existing doors in the eighteenth century. They were declared Bien de Interés Cultural in 1908.[1]

History

Final era before disappearing: 17th-19th Centuries

Sketch of Seville walls over actual center plain; preserved walls are painting in brown; ancient Roman in blue.

As time passed, the military purpose of the wall ceased to be important and instead its worth as a protective barrier against the flooding of the Guadalquivir River took precedence. Furthermore, it had a commercial function. Because of its location and being isolated, they converted it into a customs office through which they kept count of and regulated access to the city with the stipulation of duty payment. Also, this monitoring made it easier to charge important taxes and fees that were assessed to people and goods passing through including tolls, sales tax, and a special fee which existed in Castile for a certain type of construction. Finally, the walled structure was converted into a medical quarantine facility that allowed for control of the spread of illnesses.

In the eighteenth century, they began again to carry out remodeling projects at the access doors. The Arenal Gate was reconstructed and they opened a small chapel on the right side of the smaller Aceite Door. In the chapel, they placed a Baroque altarpiece by Pedro Roldán with the image of the Immaculate Conception (Patron Saint of the Arenal district). Finally, they raised the San Fernando Gate to the height of the Royal Tobacco Factory in Seville.

In 1836, because of the invasion of Andalucía by the Carlist forces, a moat was dug out and a drawbridge put up alongside the Macarena Gate with the goal of strengthening the structure. Because of this, the walls remained practically intact. Because of the Revolution of 1868, a large part of them began to be torn down essentially because of the growth of the city. The stretch of walls from the Macarena Gate (where there are seven square towers and one octagonal) to the Córdoba Gate was spared from being torn down. Also spared were a few sections at the Gardens of the Valley and the area around the Royal Fortress. In addition, the Abd el Aziz Tower, the Silver Tower, the Gold Tower, and the White Tower which pertained to the defense of the walled area were also preserved.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Database of protected buildings (movable and non-movable) of the Ministry of Culture of Spain (Spanish).

See also