Seville Cathedral Facts: Interesting Facts About A Gothic Mosque Turned Cathedral

Former Almohad Mosque

The site at which the Seville Cathedral served as the former Almohad Mosque. After the conversion of the mosque into a cathedral, several alterations were made in the structure with features like Giralda, Patio de Naranjas, and Puerta del Perton being included in the cathedral's architecture.

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La Giralda, the Seville Cathedral Bell Tower, is the crowning glory of this attraction. It originally served as the minaret of the Almohad Mosque. It has a height of 105 m (343 ft) and its square base is 7.0 m (23 ft). Interestingly, it was built with Morocco's Koutoubia Mosque in mind, which is why there are certain similarities.

Restoration Of The Main Dome

Over the years, the main dome collapsed twice - 1511 and 1888, but both times it was restored to its original glory. The cathedral was subjected to several refurbishments and extensions in different architectural styles, including Renaissance, Neo-gothic, Baroque, and more, becoming a unique architectural wonder.

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Seville Cathedral has been registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the Alcazar palace and Archivo General de Indias in 1987. Along with being a historic former mosque that has been converted into a cathedral, it is an important landmark in the city along with being a burial site for several historic figures.

Largest Gothic Church

Upon its completion in the early 16th century, Seville Cathedral Spain surpassed Hagia Sophia in Istanbul to become the largest cathedral in the world. Currently, it still holds the position as it is a bishop’s seat unlike the two largest churches, St. Peter’s Basilica and the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida. It is also the largest Gothic church and the fourth-largest church in the world.

• Total Area of Cathedral: 11,520 square meters
• Length: 135 meters
• Width: 76 meters
• Maximum Height in Transept: 42 meters
• Clock Tower Height: 104.5 meters

Chapels & Tombs

Seville Cathedral Spain is home to 80 different chapels including Capilla Real, or the Royal Chapel. According to the official reports, a total of 500 masses were conducted daily in all the chapels in the 19th century. Many famous people have been buried in a few of the chapels including:

• Fernando III of Castile
• Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen
• Alfonso X of Castile
• Christopher Columbus & Ferdinand Columbus
• Pedro I of Castile
• María Díaz de Padilla

Gothic Mosque

One of the most interesting Seville cathedral facts is that the original building on the site was a mosque built by Moors in the 12th century. It was being built to replace the earlier mosque as the congregation had grown and couldn’t accommodate everyone in its modest prayer halls. The construction of the mosque was complete by 1176 except for the minaret. In 1248, the mosque was Christianized, but it was in 1401 when it was decided to repurpose the mosque and build a great Christian church on its site.

• Commissioned: 1171
• Completed: 1198

La Giralda

Seville Cathedral Bell Tower, La Giralda, is the best part of this cathedral. Another one of the interesting Seville cathedral facts is that this bell tower was originally built as a minaret of Almohad Mosque between 1184 and 1198. After Reconquista, it was converted into a bell tower with a Renaissance-style top. In the 16th century, the statue called El Giraldillo was added to represent the faith in Christianity. The tower is 104.5 meters tall and is one of the most important symbols of Seville since medieval times.

• Height: 104.5 meters
• Square base: 7 meters above sea level
• Length: 13 meters

Legends

According to the local oral tradition, the cathedral members said ‘Hagamos una Iglesia tan hermosa y tan grandiosa que los que la vieren labrada nos tengan por locos’. What they meant was to build a church that is so beautiful and majestic so that anyone who sees it after completion will think cathedral members to be mad. The original entry from 8th July 1401 recorded by Juan Cean Bermudes in 1801 also included ‘una tal y tan buena, que no haya otra su igual’ which translated to ‘a building so good that none can be its equal’.

Architecture

Seville Cathedral architecture was both beautiful and grand, as dreamt by the original members of the cathedral. One of the most stunning Seville cathedral facts is that it has 4 huge façades that combine to form 15 majestic doors. Since the cathedral was built in a Gothic architectural style, all the doors were beautifully ornamented. The decorations displayed the different scenes from the life of Jesus. The major doors are Door of Baptism, Assumption, Saint Michael, Saint Cristopher, Sticks, Bells, Conception, Lizard, Sanctuary, Forgiveness, Prince, Saint Miguel and Palos.