Seville

Seville (34 m)
Climate diagram
	Temperature in ° C , precipitation in mm
	Source: Agencia Estatal de Meteorología, period 1981-2010

Seville
	Plaza de España
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Andalusia
Province :	Seville
Comarca :	Metropolitana de Seville
Coordinates	37 ° 24 ′ N , 6 ° 0 ′ W Coordinates: 37 ° 24 ′ N , 6 ° 0 ′ W
Height :	12 msnm
Area :	141.31 km²
Residents :	688,592 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	4,872.92 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	41001-41080
Municipality number ( INE ):	41091
Nearest airport :	Seville Airport 10 km northeast of the city center
administration
Mayor :	Juan Espadas Cejas ( PSOE )
Website :	www.sevilla.org

Seville collage

Seville [ seˈβiʎa , seˈβiʝa ] is the capital of the autonomous region of Andalusia and the province of Seville of Spain . With almost 690,000 inhabitants, Seville is the fourth largest city in Spain . According to a legend, the city was founded by the Greek hero Heracles . The inhabitants are known as Sevillanos .

The city is an important industrial and commercial center and a tourist center. Seville's old town is the largest in Spain and, alongside Venice and the old town of Genoa, one of the largest old towns in Europe.

geography

Geographical location

Seville is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula on the Guadalquivir in a wide and fertile plain at 6 m above sea level .

The Guadalquivir is navigable for seagoing vessels up to the port of Seville, the estuary at Sanlúcar de Barrameda is 80 km away. The river formed the natural boundary of the city center of Seville on its left, eastern bank; opposite was the suburb of Triana , which has since been incorporated. To protect against the regular floods and to improve the port access, the Guadalquivir was diverted past the city in a new straight river bed in the west from the first half of the 20th century. In the north the old river bed was closed (Tapón de San Jerónimo) , in the south the river was straightened ( Corta de Tablada or Canal de Alfonso XIII ), new docks were built and a lock was built between the old and the new river bed. The old river is therefore only a long harbor basin today, even if it is usually only called Guadalquivir in everyday life .

The surrounding municipalities are (to the north) Santiponce, La Algaba, La Rinconada, (to the east) Alcalá de Guadaíra, (to the south) Dos Hermanas and Gelves on the other side of the river and (to the west) San Juan de Aznalfarache, Tomares and Camas.

climate

The climate in Seville is Mediterranean with oceanic influences. The annual mean temperature is 18.6 ° C. This makes the city one of the hottest in Europe. The winters are mild. January is the coldest month of the year with an average daily high of 16 ° C and minimum temperatures of 5.7 ° C. The summers, on the other hand, are very hot with average daily highs around 36 ° C and lows around 20 ° C. The threshold of 40 ° C is regularly exceeded. The extreme temperatures measured so far at the meteorological station at Seville Airport are −5.5 ° C on February 12, 1956 and 46.6 ° C on July 23, 1995. There is still an unconfirmed record measurement from August 1, 2003 of 47.2 ° C. After Eleusis (Greece) with 48.0 ° C, Seville holds the record for the highest temperature ever recorded in Europe.

The amount of precipitation is around 540 mm per year, concentrated in the months from October to April. December is the wettest month with 99 mm.

There are only 50 rainy days on average over the year. Seville benefits from 2917 hours of sunshine a year. On some days, the temperature can drop below freezing at night.

Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Seville (34 m)

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C )	16.0	18.1	21.9	23.4	27.2	32.2	36.0	35.5	31.7	26.0	20.2	16.6	O	25.4
Min. Temperature (° C)	5.7	7.0	9.2	11.1	14.2	18.0	20.3	20.4	18.2	14.4	10.0	7.3	O	13
Temperature (° C)	10.9	12.5	15.6	17.3	20.7	25.1	28.2	27.9	25.0	20.2	15.1	11.9	O	19.2

Precipitation ( mm )	66	50	36	54	30th	10	2	5	27	68	91	99	Σ	538

Hours of sunshine ( h / d )	5.9	6.7	7.1	7.9	9.5	10.6	11.4	10.6	8.1	7.0	6.0	5.0	O	8th

Rainy days ( d )	6.1	5.8	4.3	6.1	3.7	1.3	0.2	0.5	2.4	6.1	6.4	7.5	Σ	50.4

Humidity ( % )	71	67	59	57	53	48	44	48	54	62	70	74	O	58.9

Source: Agencia Estatal de Meteorología, period 1981-2010

flora

The temperatures are high enough all year round and there is enough water through the Guadalquivir that on the one hand the streetscape is dominated by date palms , while on the other hand in the numerous parks subtropical and tropical deciduous trees of all kinds - e.g. B. rubber trees , magnolia trees , olive and bitter orange trees dominate. In addition, numerous subtropical and tropical flowers give the streetscape color (mainly red and blue), e.g. B. oleanders , bougainvilleas and glycines .

history

Santa Cruz, Jewish quarter, old town

Antiquity

Seville - perhaps founded by the Phoenicians - was an important trading center even before the arrival of the Romans and was called Híspalis in ancient times . Its name is derived from the Phoenician Spal , which means lower land . Romans and Arabs each transformed it into their own language. At that time the Guadalquivir (lat. Baetis) flowed into a large inland lake near Seville. This lake has now silted up, but smaller ships can still call at Seville. Gaius Iulius Caesar raised the city in 45 BC. To the colonia ( Colonia Romulensis or Colonia Iulia Romula ). Híspalis was one of the most important settlements in the Baetica province and was visited several times by emperors. In 428 the city was plundered by the passing vandals . When the Visigoths ruled most of Spain during late antiquity , Híspalis / Seville was important as a bishopric. In 553 the city was apparently temporarily conquered by the Eastern Roman troops of Emperor Justinian I , but was again under the power of the Visigoths by 580 at the latest. Isidore of Seville , who is often considered the last great scholar of antiquity and also the first of the Middle Ages, also worked at this time . Two councils (concilia Hispalensia) were held in Seville in 590 and 619 .

Islamic time

The Moors , Islamized Berbers , conquered the city in 712, one year after the decisive defeat of the Visigoths in the Battle of the Río Guadalete , made it the capital of a province and formed the name Híspalis to Išbīliya /إشبيليةum, from which the name Seville was derived. In August 844 the city was sacked by the Normans for seven days. After the fall of the Caliphate of Córdoba , the Abbadid typhoon dynasty established itself in Seville , initially with the judge Abbad I as emir, and led the city into its first period of splendor. In 1091 it came under the power of the Berber Almoravids , who were replaced by the Almohads in 1147 . Under the Almohads, Seville became the most important city in al-Andalus; The most prestigious building was the great mosque , the minaret of which is still preserved in the lower part of the Giralda . The foundation walls of the Torre del Oro also date from this time; it was part of a barrier against enemy ships.

Reconquista and Late Middle Ages

On November 23, 1248, Seville was after several months of siege as part of the Reconquista of Ferdinand III. conquered by Castile and has remained in the possession of the Christian Spaniards ever since. But the economy sank when over time around 300,000 Moors emigrated to the Muslim areas of Granada and North Africa. Peter I had Moorish craftsmen come from Granada in 1363 to build the Alcázar Palace. In 1391 a pogrom raged against the Jewish townspeople, who until then had been living under royal protection in the Barrio de Santa Cruz district in the vicinity of the Alcázar Palace.

Trade with the new world

Seville in the 16th century was the main hub of Spanish maritime trade and the center of Spanish art

The city gained international economic importance in the 16th and 17th centuries, when it was the main hub for Spanish maritime trade and the center of Spanish art, especially painting. During this period, the port of Seville had a monopoly of overseas trade. Amerigo Vespucci and Ferdinand Magellan planned and started their voyages of discovery here. The Casa de Contratación was the Spanish administrative center for all American affairs; The India Archives are housed in the former Seville stock exchange, Casa Lonja de Mercaderes , to this day .

As a result of the War of the Spanish Succession , Seville , which was pro-Habsburg during the war, lost its transatlantic trade monopoly to Cádiz, which was favored by the Bourbons and was pro-Habsburg during the war . The increasing siltation of the Guadalquivir contributed significantly to this decision.

19th century

The Spanish central junta was formed in Seville on May 27, 1808 , and withdrew to Cádiz on February 1, 1810. The Cortes also fled to Seville in the Spanish Revolution when they left Madrid in 1823 and kidnapped the king from here to Cádiz.

Expo 92

Seville hosted a world exhibition for the second time since 1929 , this time with 18.5 million visitors. The infrastructure has been significantly improved. The city was connected to a railway line for high-speed trains to Madrid (see Alta Velocidad Española ); the Seville airport was expanded. Motorways were also built in the region, including 85 km to Huelva ( Autopista A-49 ) and 94 km to the coastal city of Cádiz . The expo left a lot of debt; many buildings were subsequently torn down or are empty.

City emblem

The city flag of Seville, like the coat of arms, bears the text NO 8 DO , with the number 8 symbolizing a (wool) ball (Spanish madeja). The text can be found everywhere in Seville on buildings, lanterns and police vehicles and thus practically completely replaces the city arms or the Seville lettering.

It can be read as NO-MADEJA-DO (No me ha dejado), roughly translating as She has not left me . This play on words goes back to Alfonso X , who thereby thanked the city of Seville, where he lived in exile after his dethronement until his death.

Giralda

Culture and sights

The old town is dominated by narrow streets. The Santa Cruz district is particularly picturesque. The larger, regular squares include the Plaza de San Francisco (Constitution Square) with magnificent buildings, the Plaza del Duque with promenade, the Plaza de la Encarnación, the Museum Square with the bronze statue of Murillos and the Quemadero, where the car cafés took place. The busiest street is the serpentine Calle de Sierpes . Among the houses are numerous palatial, mostly built in the old Roman style, with marble-paneled courtyards; Incidentally, oriental shapes predominate in the old town. Most of the buildings have flat roofs and are rarely higher than two floors. The suburb of Triana has been connected to the actual city since 1852 by the Puente de Isabel II . Seville has numerous public fountains, most of which are supplied with water from the 410-arched ancient aqueduct Caños de Carmona . The cathedral is one of the more than 130 churches . Not far from this is the Museo del Baile Flamenco , the only flamenco museum in the world, initiated by Cristina Hoyos Panadero .

Buildings

The Maria de la Sede Cathedral was built between 1401 and 1519 on the site of the main Moorish mosque. It has five naves, numerous side chapels adorned with art treasures (paintings by Murillo , Velázquez , Zurbarán ), important stained glass, an unusually large organ and many tombs of important personalities. Since 1987, the building is part of the World Heritage of UNESCO .

Next to it is the Giralda , a 97 m high square bell tower visible from afar, with rich ornamental patterns made from fired bricks and 22 harmoniously tuned bells as well as a figure of Mary with a large weather vane on the top. The tower was built in 1196 by Abu Iussuf Iakub as the minaret of the mosque with a height of 82 m; the 32 m high tower in openwork masonry was added in 1568. The name Giralda comes from the rotatability of the figure on the tip ( Spanish girar , 'to turn' ). With the so-called orange court, the tower is the only original remaining remnant of the former mosque, but its former size can be recognized by the overall complex of the cathedral. Legend has it that the martyrs and biological sisters Justa and Rufina, who were born in Seville around 270, saved the Giralda from collapsing during three major earthquakes through their intercession. They are therefore the patron saints of the city and the Cathedral of Maria de la Sede and were often depicted in the fine arts with the Giralda in their midst, for example by Murillo and Goya .

Other buildings in Seville are:

the Alcázar , also a UNESCO World Heritage Site , the Moorish palace with splendid halls and halls as well as large gardens

the stock exchange built by Juan de Herrera with the famous Archivo General de Indias (third UNESCO World Heritage Site in Seville), the Colegio de San Telmo founded by Christopher Columbus ' son (formerly naval school, now the home of the Duke of Montpensier , with many art treasures)

the Casa de Pilatos

the archbishop's palace

Grúa Fairbairn , historic harbor crane

the Hospital de la Sangre

Metropol Parasol

the Hospital de Caridad , donated by Miguel Mañara and decorated with Murillo's paintings

the Teatro de San Francisco

the Torre del Oro ("Gold Tower"), a twelve- sided tower on the Guadalquivir (seat of the port captaincy)

Torre Schindler

the bullring, an oval amphitheater with space for 18,000 people - the largest in Spain after the Madrid bullring

the town hall, the construction of which began in 1527, with a simple facade facing the Plaza Nueva and a platerresk facade facing the Plaza de San Francisco.

The Ibero-American Exhibition of 1929 left the city mainly with the newly designed Parque María Luisa with the Plaza de España and the Plaza de América designed by the architect Aníbal González Osorio . This is where the Seville Archaeological Museum is located .

On the occasion of Expo 92, new bridges were built over the Guadalquivir. These included the Puente del Alamillo by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and the Barqueta Bridge by Spanish civil engineers Juan J. Arenas de Pablo and Marcos J. Pantaleón Prieto .

Music and parties

Seville is commonly known as the cradle of flamenco .

The most important festivals that determine the life of the city for a week are the Semana Santa ( Holy Week ) and the Feria de Abril (April fair). The Feria is a large family festival that developed from horse sales and takes place all over the city, but especially on the 450,000 m² festival area in the Los Remedios district. On the streets there there are about 1000, mostly small, managed festival tents with small dance floors in the entrance or in front of it. Carriages and riders in historical costumes paraded on the streets. During the week (schools are closed) women of all ages stroll through the city in flamenco costumes, which are then called "Las Flamencas". Men accompany them in Sunday suits and ties (even when it's extremely hot). The families - who all have their main tents - arrange to meet their friends on the festival site and gradually switch to other families in different festival tents.

The Royal Symphony Orchestra of Seville plays mainly in the Teatro de la Maestranza .

Culinary

Seville is the place of origin of tapas , small, cold or warm snacks that are always served with an alcoholic drink.

Sweet specialties from Seville are pestiños, cortadillos, tortas de aceite, torríjas. Almost all of these specialties have their origin in Moorish recipes.

Economy and Infrastructure

traffic

Estación de Santa Justa , Santa Justa Train Station

Railway: Santa Justa station is the end of the high-speed line Madrid – Seville of the Alta Velocidad Española (AVE). An extension of this line to Huelva is planned, but has so far failed due to a lack of money and the fact that one wants to build through a national park.

Aerial view, looking north to the river port

Public transport: On October 28, 2007, Seville's first new tram line (Metro-Centro) (length in 2013: 2,200 meters) went into operation. It connects the downtown bus and subway station San Bernardo with the center (Plaza Nueva). A metro system ( Metro Sevilla ) has been under construction since the late 1970s , the first line of which (Línea 1) opened its doors in April 2009 in time for the Feria de Abril. It connects the Ciudad Expo (southwest) with Olivar de Quinto (southeast) and serves, among other things, as a feeder for the Universidad Pablo de Olavide , which is a little outside in the southeast. City buses complement the tram and metro system and are currently still the most important public transport. Various bus companies also offer trips to almost all major cities in Spain from the two bus stations Prado de San Sebastián and Plaza de Armas.

Bicycle traffic: There is a very well developed network of public bicycles ( Sevici ), which are very popular. On the occasion of the Velo-city conference in 2011, numerous new cycle paths were built or marked in advance, although the structurally designed, mostly two-way traffic, exhibited many of the typical cycle path problems.

Road: The city is surrounded by a motorway ring, the main highways of which are the A 49 to Huelva- Portugal and the A 4 towards Cádiz and Madrid .

Air transport: Seville has San Pablo International Airport on the northern outskirts.

Industry

The 11 MW solar thermal power plant PS10 near Seville

In Seville, there is a transmission plant of Renault , formerly FASA-Renault . Airbus Group , formerly EADS- CASA , is assembling the Airbus A400M military transporter at Seville Airport , and there is a shipyard there. In addition, Cruzcampo , a beer brand from Heineken, is brewed in Seville .

Solar power plant

The PS10 solar thermal power plant with an output of 11 MW is located near the city .

education

Seville has two public universities: the University of Seville (Universidad de Sevilla) , the second largest university in Spain, with the Law Institute in the Fábrica de Pirotecnia Militar and the University of Pablo de Olavide .

The Renaissance building of the “Archivo General de Indias” opposite the cathedral has housed all the documents of the Spanish colonies since 1784, including the legacies of the discoverers and conquerors such as Christopher Columbus and Hernán Cortés .

There is also a German school in Seville, the Colegio Alemán Alberto Durero (German School Seville Albrecht Dürer). The students are offered a variety of exchange opportunities, including with the municipal Luisengymnasium in Munich .

Sports

Well-known football clubs are Sevilla FC and Betis Sevilla , which play in the Primera División .

Seville hosted the 1999 World Athletics Championships , the 2002 World Rowing Championships and the 2019 European Dragon Boat Championships.

Personalities

Famous personalities from Seville include the Dominican and lawyer Bartolomé de Las Casas , the painter Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez , the Nobel laureate in literature Vicente Aleixandre , the Prime Minister Felipe González Márquez , the actress Paz Vega , the soccer player José Mari as well the German-Spanish engineer and patron Otto Engelhardt .