History of Seville Cathedral

The largest Gothic cathedral

Seville Cathedral is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, the largest Catholic cathedral in the world (St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican is not a cathedral) and the third-largest church, after St Peter's in the Vatican and St Paul's in London.

According to tradition, its construction began in 1401, although there is no documentary evidence of the start of the works until 1433. It was built on the site left after the demolition of Seville's former great mosque, of which the minaret, the Giralda, and the Courtyard of the Orange Trees (Patio de los Naranjos) survive. In 2008 the oldest plan of the cathedral was found in the Monastery of Bidaurreta, in Oñati (Gipuzkoa).

An unusual building

The Cathedral has five naves facing east, like the mosque. Most striking of all, it does not have the usual Gothic east end with an apse and ambulatory: its hall-church plan is a perfect rectangle that matches that of the great mosque to the millimetre, from which it also inherited the unusual arrangement of its doors.

The walls are thin. The chapels are separated by buttresses perpendicular to the axis of the church, which end in 28 engaged pillars; together with another 32 free-standing ones, they support 68 pointed vaults. Natural light is scarce, because the windows are small and have beautiful stained glass.

Seven centuries of history

The Metropolitan Chapter has been its custodian for seven centuries. It maintains the daily liturgy and the celebration of the great feasts of Corpus Christi and the Immaculate Conception, looks after devotion to the Virgen de los Reyes and carries out extensive pastoral work as the first church of the diocese of Seville. Learn about its history in the Cathedral Chapter.

Discover what you will see inside in the parts of the Cathedral.