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Real Alcazar de Sevilla

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LenR
LenR
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Real Alcazar de Sevilla

  • January 4, 2009
  • Rated 4 of 5 by LenR from Townsville, Australia
Real Alcazar de Sevilla

This palace/fortress was built over many centuries but it is often credited to Pedro I. In the 14th-century this Christian King built his own palace on the site of Seville’s former Moorish alcazar (fortress) and much of it remains today. It appears that Pedro was not a particularly likeable man as he had a dozen friends and relatives murdered in his efforts to remain king.

Pedro’s palace was designed and built by Moorish workers bought in from Granada and this gives it a very Moorish appearance. It now serves as the official Seville residence of Spain’s king and queen when they are in town. Much of it is open to the public and it has become Seville’s most popular tourist site. Whatever else Pedro may have done, posterity owes him a big thank you for building such a fine palace here.

You enter the Alcazar through the Lion Gate from Plaza Triunfo. You are now in the Courtyard of the Lion and adjacent to the oldest parts of the building. Go left into the 14th-century Hall of Justice then into the intimate Courtyard of Plaster. This was actually part of the original 12th-century Almohad Alcazar. If you now walk through the large Patio de la Monteria you enter the heart of the palace and the wonderful Patio of the Maidens, surrounded by beautiful arches and exquisite plasterwork. Just a few years ago, archaeologists uncovered its original sunken garden which was covered in the 16th-century.

Opening off here is the Hall of the Ambassadors with its exquisite cedar cupola. This is probably the most sumptuous hall in the palace and was once Pedro’s throne room. The wooden balconies were added for the wedding of Carlos V to Isabel of Portugal in 1526. The King’s quarters are off the north side of the Patio. Within here there is more stunning plaster and tile work. The small Patio of the Dolls has delicate Granada-style decoration. If you go upstairs from the Patio of the Maidens you reach the much-remodelled rooms of Alfonso X’s 13th-century Gothic palace. This is where, a century or so later, Pedro installed his mistress.

There are many other places worth seeing. The Hall of the Vault is adorned with beautiful 1570s tiling. The Tapestry Room has a collection of huge 18th-century tapestries. Don’t miss the gardens. You can see down into some of them from the palace buildings but you need to walk through them to enjoy the scents, sounds and beauty. You can wander among terraces and ornamental baths and in the centre of one of the green oases is an orange tree supposedly planted in the time of Pedro I.

From the gardens you can leave the Alcazar through a 17th-century entrance hall. You need to allow a couple of hours to really enjoy this palace. There is much to see and it is worth taking the guided tour through the royal chambers which are now occasionally used by King Juan Carlos I and his family.

Tickets cost five Euros. Opening hours are Tuesday to Saturday from 9.30am to 7pm and Sundays from 9.30am to 5pm.

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