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| Torre del Oro | |
|---|---|
 The Torre del Oro, view from the north. | |
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| General information | |
| Type | Watchtower |
| Location | Seville, Spain |
| Type | Non-movable |
| Criteria | Monument |
| Designated | 3 June 1931 |
| Reference no. | RI-51-0000887 |
TheTorre del Oro (Arabic:بُرْج الذَّهَب,romanized: burj aḏẖ-ḏẖahab,lit. 'Tower of Gold') is adodecagonal militarywatchtower inSeville, southernSpain. It was erected by theAlmohad Caliphate in order to control access to Seville via theGuadalquivir river.
Constructed in the first third of the 13th century,[1] the tower served as aprison during theMiddle Ages. Its name comes from the golden shine it projected on the river, due to its building materials (a mixture ofmortar,lime and pressedhay).
The tower is divided into three levels, the first level,dodecagonal, was built in 1220 by order of theAlmohad governor of Seville, Abù l-Ulà; As for the second level, of only 8 meters, also dodecagonal, was built byPeter of Castile in the fourteenth century, a hypothesis that has been confirmed by archaeological studies; The third and uppermost being circular in shape was added after the previous third level, Almohad, was damaged by the1755 Lisbon earthquake. Rebuilding of the third level was made by Brusselian military engineerSebastian Van der Borcht in 1760.
TheTorre de la Plata, an octagonal tower, is located nearby, and is believed to have been constructed during the same era.
It is one of two anchor points for a largechain that would have been able to block the river. The other anchor-point has since been demolished or disappeared, possibly collapsing during the1755 Lisbon earthquake. The chain was used in the city's defense against the Castilian fleet underRamón de Bonifaz in the 1248Reconquista. Bonifaz broke the river defenses and isolated Seville from Triana.
The Tower of Gold was built 1220–1221, by order of the Almohad governor of Seville, Abu l-Ulà, with a twelve-sided base. It barred the way to the Arenal district with a section of wall joining it to theTorre de la Plata, a part of the city walls that defended the Alcazar.
The tower was badly damaged by theLisbon earthquake of 1755, and the Marquis of Monte Real proposed demolishing it to widen the way for horse-drawn coaches and straighten access to the bridge of Triana; however, the people of Seville objected and appealed to the king, who intervened. In 1760, the damage was repaired, with repairs to the bottom floor of the tower, reinforcement with rubble and mortar, and the creation of a new main access via the passageway to the path around the wall. That same year, the upper cylindrical body was built, a work of the military engineer Sebastian Van der Borcht, also architect of theRoyal Tobacco Factory of Seville. These works changed the appearance of the tower as compared to what is seen in engravings from the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries.On August 13, 1992, the Torre del Oro was made a brother to theTower of Belem of Lisbon to celebrate theUniversal Exposition in Seville. As of 2008 the museum displayed a variety of old navigational instruments and models, as well as historical documents, engravings, and nautical charts, relating Seville to the Guadalquivir River and the sea. The tower was again restored in 2005.
Media related toTorre del Oro at Wikimedia Commons
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| Geographic | |
37°22′56.79″N5°59′47.28″W / 37.3824417°N 5.9964667°W /37.3824417; -5.9964667
