Seville - Sights, Festivals, Cakes and Sweet Pastry from Seville, Education, Trivia

37°23N 6°00W, pop (2000e) 667 000. River-port and capital of Seville province, Andalusia, SW Spain; on R Guadalquivir, 538 km/334 mi SW of Madrid; Moorish cultural centre, 8th–13th-c; trading centre with the Americas, 16th-c; archbishopric; airport; railway; university (1502); tourism, furniture, olives, agricultural machinery, chemicals; birthplace of Velásquez and Murillo; cathedral (15th-c), largest Gothic church in the world, with tomb of Columbus; Moorish citadel and Archivo de Indias, a world heritage site; Maria Luisa Park, fine arts museum, Pilate's House, Palace of St Telmo; Scipio's Roman settlement of Italica, 7 km/4 mi NW; April fair, Festival of Spain (autumn), Fiesta of La Virgen de los Reyes (Aug), St Miguel fair (Sep).

Sevilla
Flag Coat of Arms
NO8DO ("It has not abandoned me")
Location
Coordinates : (37°22′38″N, 5°59′13″W) Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2)
General information
Native name	Sevilla (Spanish)
Spanish name	Sevilla
Founded	8th-9th century BC
Postal code	41001-41080
Website	http://www.sevilla.org/
Administration
Country	Spain
Autonomous Community	Andalucía
Province	Sevilla
Mayor	Alfredo Sánchez Monteseirín (PSOE)
Geography
Land Area	140 km²
Altitude	7 m AMSL
Population
Population	704,154 (2005)
Density	5.029 hab./km² ()

Seville (Spanish: Sevilla, see also different names) is the artistic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain, irrigated by the river Guadalquivir (37°22′38″N, 5°59′13″W). The population of the city of Seville proper was 704,154 as of 2005 (INE estimate). After a brief independence as one of the taifa principalities, from 1023 to 1091, when it was the seat of the Abbadids while the Caliphate of Cordoba collapsed, Seville then fell to the Reconquista of Ferdinand III of Castile in 1248.

Seville was governed from Cordoba but as a port it retained strategic importance: Emir Abd ar-Rahman II built a fleet and arsenal at Seville in the mid-9th century.

Seville the port

The city sits well inland, but a mere 6 meters above sea level. Much of the Spanish Empire's silver from the New World came to Europe in the Spanish treasure fleet that landed in Seville. Seville holds the most important archive of the Spanish administration in the Americas (the Archivo General de Indias). Other treasures of the Americas passed first through Seville: the first commercial shipment of chocolate from Veracruz arrived in Seville in 1585.

The city was the biggest of Spain in 16th and 17th centuries, with a population of 130,000 in 1649, the year of the Great Plague of Seville. It was the beginning of the city's fall from importance, but Seville was an important artistic center of the baroque.

Seville was a stronghold of the liberals during the Spanish Civil War, 1820-1823.

Due to its proximity to Africa, during the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939, Seville fell soon to the insurgent army led by Francisco Franco.

Modern Seville

Seville was the home of Expo 92 World's Fair.

Today Seville is a stronghold of the Socialist Party (PSOE).

Sights

The city's cathedral was built from 1401–1519 after the Reconquista on the former site of the city's mosque.

Festivals

The Easter Holy Week, "Semana Santa", and the Seville Fair, "La Feria de Sevilla" (also Feria de Abril, "April Fair") are the two most well-known of Seville's festivals. Seville is internationally renowned for the solemn but beautiful processions during Semana Santa and the colourful and lively fair held two weeks after.

Cakes and Sweet Pastry from Seville

Typical of this province are polvorones and mantecados from the town of Estepa, a sort of shortcake made with almonds, sugar and lard;

Education

University of Seville Pablo de Olavide University

Trivia

Seville is known for its hot summer weather, reaching even 50.0°C (122.0°F) on August 4, 1881, the record heat for Europe.

The Seville oranges that dot the city landscape, too sour for modern tastes, are the best for making marmalade;

Kansas City, Missouri's Country Club Plaza was designed to mimic downtown Seville, including a scaled replica of the Giralda.

The world-famous picaresque novel Rinconete y Cortadillo by Miguel de Cervantes takes place in the city of Seville.

Famous people born in Seville and Seville province

Roman emperors Trajan and Hadrian were born in Italica Renaissance composer Cristóbal de Morales 16th century novelist Mateo Alemán Playwrights Lope de Rueda Hermanos Alvarez Quintero Historian of New Spain Bartolomé de Las Casas Explorer Juan Díaz de Solís, born in Lebrija Spanish Linguist and Grammarian Antonio de Nebrija, born in Lebrija Baroque painters Diego Velázquez, Valdes Leal and Murillo Explorer and astronomer Antonio de Ulloa Romantic poet Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer Bullfighters Juan Belmonte, Curro Romero, José Antonio Morantes de La Puebla and Joselito el Gallo 20th century poets: Vicente Aleixandre (Nobel Laureate) Antonio Machado Manuel Machado, his brother Luis Cernuda Composer Joaquín Turina Actors Paco Leon, Manuel Luna Actresses Carmen Sevilla and Paz Vega, Conchita Bautista Dancers Antonio, el bailarin, Realito, Farruquito Singers Isabel Pantoja, Juanita Reina, Lole y Manuel, Paquita Rico, El Caracol, and a large etcetera... Seville FC are the 2006 UEFA Cup Champions, their first European trophy after an emphatic 4-0 victory over Middlesbrough FC (England) in the final, played at the Philips Stadion in Eindhoven on May 10th 2006.

Motto

The motto of Seville is "NO8DO".

Sister cities

Kraków, Poland Kansas City, Missouri, United States Angers, France Columbus, Ohio, United States Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico Cartagena de Indias, Colombia

Seville in fiction

Seville is the setting for the legend of Don Juan (inspired by the real aristocrat Don Miguel de Mañara). Seville is the primary setting of many operas, the best known of which are Bizet's "Carmen," Rossini's "The Barber of Seville," Verdi's "La Forza del Destino," Beethoven's "Fidelio," Mozart's "Don Giovanni" and "The Marriage of Figaro," and Prokofiev's "Betrothal in a Monastery." Seville is the setting of the novel and film Nadie conoce a nadie, which incorporates the elaborate Sevillian processions during Holy Week. Seville is the setting of the novel "The Seville Communion" by Arturo Pérez-Reverte. The Patio de los Naranjos in the Catedral appears in Kingdom of Heaven. Seville is also used as one of the locations in Dan Brown's "Digital Fortress". The description of Seville in the book holds no link to reality, apparently because Mr. Dan Brown did not study at Seville University, nor does his name appear on any list of students for the academic year 1994-1995.

Gallery

The Giralda Tower	Typical Sevilla street in Old Quarters	One of the many orange trees that line Seville's roads	"Caños de Carmona", old Roman Aqueduct
Seville Maestranza de Caballería bullring	A city centre square	Torre del Oro as seen from Triana	Guadalquivir River
Plaza de España	Alcázar of Seville gardens	One of Seville's Holy Week processions	Indian Scout statue in Avenue of Kansas City (Seville's sister city)