Seville Cathedral | |
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Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See Catedral de Santa María de la Sede | |
Location | Seville |
Country | Spain |
Denomination | Catholic Church |
Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
Website | www |
History | |
Status | Cathedral |
Consecrated | 1507 |
Architecture | |
Functional status | Active |
Architectural type | Church |
Style | Gothic, Moorish, and Renaissance |
Groundbreaking | 1402 |
Completed | 1519 |
Specifications | |
Length | 135 m (443 ft) |
Width | 100 m (330 ft) |
Nave width | 15 m (49 ft) |
Height | 42 m (138 ft) |
Number of spires | 1 |
Spire height | 105 m (344 ft) |
Administration | |
Archdiocese | Seville |
Clergy | |
Archbishop | José Ángel Saiz Meneses |
Official name | Cathedral, Alcázar and Archivo de Indias in Seville |
Type | Cultural |
Criteria | i, ii, iii, vi |
Designated | 1987 (11th session), modified 2010 |
Reference no. | 383bis-001 |
Region | Europe and North America |
Official name | Catedral de Santa María de la Sede de Sevilla |
Type | Real property |
Criteria | Monument |
Designated | 29 December 1928 |
Reference no. | (R.I.) - 51 - 0000329 - 00000 |
The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See (Spanish: Catedral de Santa María de la Sede), better known as Seville Cathedral (Catedral de Sevilla), is a Catholic cathedral and former mosque in Seville, Andalusia, Spain.[1] It was registered in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, along with the adjoining Alcázar palace complex and the General Archive of the Indies.[2] It is one of the largest churches in the world as well as the largest Gothic church.[3]
After its completion in the early 16th century, Seville Cathedral supplanted Hagia Sophia as the largest cathedral in the world, a title the Byzantine church had held for a thousand years.[4] The Gothic section alone has a length of 126 m (413 ft), a width of 76 m (249 ft), and its maximum height in the center of the transept is 42 m (138 ft). The total height of the Giralda tower from the ground to the weather vane is 104.5 m (342 ft 10 in). The Archbishop's Palace is located on the northeastern side of the cathedral.
Seville Cathedral was the site of the baptism of Infante Juan of Aragon in 1478, only son of the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. Its royal chapel holds the remains of the city's conqueror, Ferdinand III of Castile, his son and heir, Alfonso the Wise, and their descendant, King Peter the Cruel. The funerary monuments for cardinals Juan de Cervantes and Pedro González de Mendoza are located among its chapels. Christopher Columbus and his son Diego are also buried in the cathedral.[5]