This royal castle/fortress has been expanded and reconstructed many time in the 11 centuries since it was first built in the 9th century. It is the oldest European castle still in use as a royal residence; when the King is in Sevilla, this is where he stays. The monarchy went into exile in Italy during Franco's rule but returned in the 1970's as a constitutional monarchy. The current king is very unpopular having recently spent a lot of money shooting elephants while the country suffers through extremely high unemployment and very tough economic times. Evidently the Queen lives in London and it took her 3 days to get to the hospital where the King was recovering from some injury suffered during his safari. The son-in-law is likely to be charged with financial misdeeds in which the princess may be implicated. Lots of material here for a telenovela.
All of the trade from the Spanish colonies in the Americas came through the Contracting House in the Alcazar built in the 1500's. This helped make Seville very wealthy for a time until the trade was moved to Cadiz. On the walls of this room are the coats of arms of all the commanders of the Spanish fleet; pictured on left is that of Christopher Columbus.
In the mid-1300's, Pedro I created what is seen as the crown jewel of the Alcazar, the Mudejar Palacio de Don Pedro. King Pedro had a long-standing alliance with the Muslim ruler of Granada, Mohammed V. When Pedro decided to build a new palace Mohammed sent many of the best artisans to Seville.
The result is a collaborative architectural masterpiece that combines symbols, craft and art from the 3 religions prominent at the time: Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Since this castle has been in continuous use, it didn't suffer the neglect of La Alhambra so the colors of the inside decoration remain vibrant. The wooden dome ceilings are amazingly intricate.
Mary standing in one of the rooms of King Pedro's palace. The tiles in this area are original 13th century work; each different color is a different piece of tile. It is amazing the craftsmanship and artistry of each detail of this magnificent palace.
King Alfonso X replaced much of the original Moorish castle with a Gothic style palace in the 13th century. The original lead chandeliers were taken by Napoleon's army when the French conquered this area; lacking funds, the Spanish have replaced them with paper mâché replicas.
The extensive gardens are a beautiful feature of the Alcazar. As you walk on the upper walkway you can see the older gardens on your right and gardens designed in the 19th and 20th centuries in the English and French style on your left.
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