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For other uses, see Seville (disambiguation).
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| Seville / Sevilla | |||||
| The Cathedral of Seville is one of the largest in the world | |||||
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| NO8DO ("From Andalusian: "No ma dejado" - I was not abandoned") | |||||
| Location | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coordinates : (Coordinates: ) 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 | 699,145 (about 1.5 millions in metro area) (2007) | ||||
| Density | 4,947.6 hab./km² (2007) | ||||
The Alamillo Bridge
Seville (Spanish: Sevilla [se\'bi.ʝa], see also different names) is the artistic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of Andalusia and of the province of Sevilla. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of 7 metres (23 ft) above sea level. The inhabitants of the city are known as Sevillanos (feminine form: Sevillanas) or "Hispalenses". The population of the city of Seville was 699,145 as of 2007 (INE estimate). The population of the metropolitan area (urban area plus satellite towns) was 1,450,214 as of 2007 (INE estimate), ranking as the fourth largest metropolitan area of Spain.
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Seville is more than two thousand years old. The passage of the various people instrumental in its growth has left the city with a distinct personality, and a large and well-preserved historical center.
The city was known from early Roman times as "Hispalis". The nearby Roman city of Italica is well-preserved and gives an impression of how Hispalis may have looked in the later Roman period. Existing Roman features in Seville include the remnants of an aqueduct.
After successive conquests of the Roman province of Hispania Baetica by the Vandals and Visigoths, in the 5th and 6th centuries, the city was taken by the Moors in 712 and became an important center in Muslim Andalusia. It remained under Muslim control, under the authority of the Umayyad, Almoravid and Almohad dynasties, until falling to Fernando III in 1248. The city retains many Moorish features, including large sections of the city wall.
Following the Reconquest, the city\'s development continued, with the construction of public buildings including churches, many in Mudéjar style. Later, the city experienced another golden age of development brought about by wealth accumulating from the awarding of a monopoly of trade with the Spanish territories in the New World. After the silting up of the Guadalquivir, the city went into relative economic decline.
Seville\'s development in the 19th and 20th centuries was characterised by population growth and increasing industrialisation.
Seville fell very quickly to General Franco\'s troops near the beginning of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 due to its proximity to the invasion force coming from Morocco. After the initial takeover of the city, resistance continued amongst the working class areas for some time, until a series of fierce reprisals took place.http://worldspin360.blogspot.com/2007/03/seville-malaga.htmlhttp://books.google.com/books?id=-ncWULEubPQC&pg=PA93&lpg=PA93&dq=seville+fell+1936&source=web&ots=6GMvQVt4EY&sig=XAVObPeB8A3ChkDoOLEdTPpbiOk#PPA93,M1
The city\'s cathedral was built from 1401–1519 after the Reconquista on the former site of the city\'s mosque. It is amongst the largest of all medieval and Gothic cathedrals, in terms of both area and volume. The interior is the longest nave in Spain, and is lavishly decorated, with a large quantity of gold evident. The Cathedral reused some columns and elements from the mosque, and, most famously, the Giralda, originally a minaret, was converted into a bell tower. It is topped with a statue, known locally as El Giraldillo, representing Faith. The tower\'s interior was built with ramps rather than stairs, to allow the Muezzin and others to ride to the top.
The Alcázar facing the cathedral has developed from the city\'s old Moorish Palace; construction was begun in 1181 and continued for over 500 years, mainly in Mudéjar style, but also in Renaissance. Its gardens are a blend of Moorish, Andalusian, and Christian traditions.
The Torre del Oro was built by the Almohad dynasty as watchtower and defensive barrier on the river. A chain was strung through the water from the base of the tower to prevent boats from traveling into the river port.
The Town Hall, built in the 16th century in Plateresque Style by Diego de Riaño. The Façade to Plaza Nueva was built in the 19th century in Neoclassical style.
The University of Sevilla is housed in the original site of the first tobacco factory in Europe, la antigua Fabrica de Tabacos.
| Climate chart for Seville | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
66 15 6 |
61 17 7 |
90 20 9 |
61 24 11 |
41 27 13 |
8 32 17 |
1 36 20 |
5 36 20 |
19 32 18 |
70 26 14 |
67 20 10 |
79 16 7 |
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| temperatures in °C • precipitation totals in mm source: BBC Weather | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Imperial conversion
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The climate of Seville is Mediterranean, with oceanic influences. The annual average temperature is 18.6 °C (65 °F), which makes this city one of the warmest in Europe.
Holy Week 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 colorful and lively fair held two weeks after. During Feria, families, businesses and organisations set up casetas, marquees, in which they spend the week dancing, drinking, and socializing. Traditionally, the women wear elaborate flamenco dresses and the men dress in their best suits. The marquees are set up on a permanent fairground in which each street is named after a famous bullfighter.
Seville is a gastronomic center, with a cuisine based on the products of the surrounding provinces, including seafood from Cádiz, olive oil from Jaén, and sherry from Jerez de la Frontera.
The tapas scene is one of the main cultural attractions of the city: people go from one bar to another enjoying small dishes called tapas (literally "lids" or "covers" in Spanish, referring to their origin as snacks served in small plates used to cover drinks.)
Local specialities include fried and grilled seafood (including squid, cuttlefish, swordfish and dogfish), grilled meats in sauces, spinach and chickpeas, Andalusian ham (Jamón ibérico), lamb\'s kidneys in a sherry sauce, snails, and gazpacho.
Typical sweet cakes of this province are polvorones and mantecados from the town of Estepa, a kind of shortcake made with almonds, sugar and lard; Pestiños, a honey-coated sweet fritter; Roscos fritos, deep-fried sugar-coated ring doughnuts; magdalenas or fairy cakes; yemas de San Leandro, which provide the city\'s convents with a source of revenue, and Tortas de aceite, a thin sugar-coated cake made with olive oil.
Except for "polvorones" and "mantecados", which are traditional Christmas products, all of these are consumed throughout the year.
The Seville oranges that dot the city landscape, too sour for modern tastes, are commonly used to make marmalade.
The Sevillana dance, commonly presented as flamenco, is not thought to be of Sevillan origin. But the folksongs called Sevillanas are authentically Sevillan, as is the four-part dance that goes with them.
Seville, and most significantly the traditionally gypsy barrio, Triana, was a major center in the development of flamenco.
Giralda replica in Kansas City, Missouri
The motto of Seville is "NO8DO". The "8" is shaped like a skein of wool, or, madeja in Spanish. The motto, therefore, is a rebus, reading "NO madeja DO," a play on the sentence, "No me ha dejado," or "she [the city] has not abandoned me [the king]". (\'City\' is feminine in Spanish.)
The motto, according to one legend, refers to the city\'s support of King Alphonse X in a 13th-century war with his son, Don Sancho. Another places the phrase in the mouth of Ferdinand III while riding into the city after expelling the Moors in 1248. This motto is seen in the city flag and throughout Seville, inscribed on manhole covers, and on some street signs.
Seville has two sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):
The economic activity of Seville cannot be detached from the geographical and urban context of the city; the capital of Andalusia is the center of a growing metropolitan area. Aside from traditional neighborhoods such as Santa Cruz, Triana and La Macarena, those further away from the center, such as Nervión, Sevilla Este, and El Porvenir have seen recent economic growth. Over the past twenty years, this urban area has seen significant population growth and the development of new industrial and commercial parks.
Due to its size and location, Seville is economically the strongest of the Andalusian cities. The infrastructure available in the city contributes to the growth of an economy dominated by the service sector, but in which industry still holds a considerable place.
The economic development of the city and its urban area is supported by good transport links to other Spanish cities, including a high-speed AVE railway link to Madrid, and an international airport.
In addition:
The town of Seville and its agglomeration have, by their situation in the heart of the plain of the Guadalquivir, maintained a dynamic agricultural activity. Agroalimentary industry is flourishing there. Nevertheless, for a long time the area has been looking to the future, while investing massively in the industrial activities, supported by the existing infrastructures. The service sector and new technologies are increasingly important. Seville concentrated, in 2004, 31% of the large Andalusian companies and 128 of the 6.000 larger national companies. The agglomeration counted in 2005 a working population of 471.947 people, of which 329.471 (69,81%) for the city centers.
The city of Seville has a great place in the area of scientific research, as it houses the first and largest DNA bank in Spain, through the local company Neocodex. Neocodex stores 20,000 DNA samples and is recognized internationally. In addition, Seville is also considered an important technological and research centre for renewable energies and the aeronautics industry.
Through its high tech centers and its fabric of innovating companies, the Andalusian capital rose among the very first Spanish cities in term of development and research. Moroever, the scientific and technological activity of the three Sevillan universities has to be added, whose certain laboratories and research centers work in close connection with the local socio-economic power. Thus, the Parque Científico Tecnológico Sevilla Tecnopolis gathers private and public actors in various fields of research.
The principal innovation and research orientations are articulated around telecommunications, new technologies, biotechnologies (in relation to local agricultural specificities), environment or renewable energies.
Sevilla is served by the TUSSAM (Transportes Urbanos de Sevilla) bus network which runs buses throughout the city as well as outlying areas surrounding Sevilla. El Metrocentro Tranvia is a slow paced tram line consisting of four stops, running from el Prado bus station, past the University and the Cathedral, stopping at Plaza Nueva where the direction of service reverses.
By the end of 2008 the city hopes to see completion of its first proper metro line, almost 28 months later than originally planned. The project experienced several delays caused by various reasons, including the relocation of archaeological findings and the need for a deeper tunnel under the Guadalquivir River, so to avoid possible water leakages.
The Santa Justa train station is served by the AVE high-speed rail system, and is operated by the Spanish state-owned rail company Renfe.
Currently in progress as well is the Sevici community bicycle program which has integrated bicycles into the public transportation network. Throughout the city, green bicycle lanes can be seen on most major streets. This network of lanes (carriles) is also currently being expanded.
Cathedral and Archivo de Indias - Seville.jpg
View of the Cathedral of Seville and the Archivo de Indias |
The distinctive cloaks and hoods (capirotes) of the Easter Holy Week processions |
Night view of Bridge of Triana from Betis Street |
1929 Exposition Building, the Plaza de España |
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Seville AVE Railway Station |
SevillaGiralda.jpg
The Giralda Tower |
Old Quarters |
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Sevilla Plaza de toros.JPG
Seville Maestranza de Caballería bullring |
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Plaza del Pan |
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Torre del Oro as seen from Triana |
Sevilla Guadalquivir.JPG
The canal in Seville |
Sevilla Plaza de Espana fuente.JPG
Plaza de España |
Sevilla reales alcázare garten.jpg
Alcázar of Seville gardens |
SemanaSantaSevillaLaPaz1.jpeg
One of Seville\'s Holy Week processions |
HermanaKansasCitySevilla.JPG
Indian Scout statue in Kansas City Avenue (Seville\'s sister city) |
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Orange groves and the Giralda Tower, one of the major landmarks of the city of Seville, Spain |
The Cathedral of Seville as looking east from the Torre de Oro |
The Puente de la Barqueta connects the Arenal neighborhood with Isla de la Cartuja |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
| Neighborhoods of Seville |
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Macarena · Triana · Nervión · Santa Cruz · Centro · Los Remedios · La Cartuja · Sevilla Este · Pino Montano · El Porvenir · Polígono Norte · Polígono San Pablo · La Palmera · Torreblanca · Bellavista · Tres Mil Viviendas · Valdezorras · El Vacie · Encarnación - La Campana · La Alameda · El Arenal · |
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