Visitas a los Reales Alcázares of Seville

Guided visits

We propose you several differents ways to know the Monument:

• Regular Visit Tour to Reales Alcázares.
• Private Visit Tour to Reales Alcázares, Barrio de Santa Cruz and the Cathedral.
• Educational Visit Tour, only for schools to the Cathedral and Reales Alcázares

Information

A citadel is a Spanish castle. Etymologically, the word comes from Arabic fortress at Qasr القصر which means' strength ', which is in Latin castellum (castrum). Several Spanish cities have an alcazar.

The Alcazar of Sevilla is used as a place of accommodation for members of the Royal Family and dignitaries who visit the city. It consists of several buildings of different eras. The original fortification was built on an ancient Roman settlement, and later Visigoths. Later became a basilica Paleo (San Vicente Martir), where he was buried San Isidoro.

We can situate the origin of the Alcázar in the Xth century, in the time of the first Andalusian Caliph Abd al-Rahman III, who on an old Roman establishment and later visigoth, extrawalls of the city, where apparently was the basilica of San Vicente Mártir and buried San Isidoro, decides to build its Palace in 913, after the revolt against the government of Córdoba.

During the XIth century, the second of the taifas kings, Al-Mutamid, extends towards the west the primitive palatal structures and raises his new Palace called " Al-Mubarak" (The Blessing), with the entrance where today is the “arquillo of Mañara” or “de la Plata”, (of Silver).

In the Almorávide stage (1091-1147) it is not known of the execution of any outstanding work.

Seville becomes the capital of the new magrebí empire, with the Almohades. They construct partly of the area occupied by the Palace of “Al-Muawarak”, the Jardín del Crucero, “the Cruise Garden”, what today is the Patio of the Public Work Council and Transports of the Junta of Andalucía, situated in the Plaza de la Contratación. On top of the old “Dar Al-Imara”, they raise the main Almohade Palace, known since the XVth century as the Palacio del Yeso (of Plaster), and arriving to our days as one of the few rests of Almohade civil architecture existing in the peninsula.

In 1254, Alfonso X el Sabio (the Wise), commands to build his Palace in a gothic style, incorporating the second Patio of the Crucero Almohade, being based as well in part of the primitive “Dar Al-Imara” and later Magrebí Palace. Of this one, there are left some “Dance halls” and the four towers with spiral staircase, that provides them the old name of “Palace of the Caracol”, being considered like the rests of civil gothic architecture located more to the south of Europe.