The Giralda (Spanish: La Giralda) is the bell tower of Seville Cathedral in Seville, Spain. It was originally built as the minaret for the Great Mosque of Seville in al-Andalus, Moorish Spain, during the reign of the Almohad dynasty, with a Renaissance-style top subsequently added by the Catholics after the expulsion of the Muslims from the area.

The mosque was built to replace the Ummayyad mosque of 'Addabas, since the congregation had grown larger than the modest prayer hall could accommodate. It was commissioned in 1171 by caliph Abu Ya'qub Yusuf .

The minaret was built using both local bricks and recycled marble by Sevillan architect Ahmad ibn Basuh and Sicilian architect Abu Layth Al-Siqilli

On 10 March 1198, the tower was completed with the addition of four precious metal spheres (either gold or bronze) at the tower's peak to commemorate al-Mansur's victory over Alfonso VIII of Castile, which had taken place four years prior.

Conversion to cathedral

After Seville was recovered by the Christians in 1248, the city's mosque was symbolically converted into a cathedral. This involved changing the liturgical orientation, closing and screening off exits and archways, and creating several small family chapels.

This structure was badly damaged in a 1356 earthquake, and by 1433 the city began building the current cathedral. Construction took 73 years and was completed in 1506.

Today, the Giralda stands as one of the largest churches in the world and an example of the Gothic and Baroque architectural styles. The metal spheres were replaced with a cross and bell. The new cathedral incorporated the tower as a bell tower and eventually built it higher during the Renaissance under architect Hernán Ruiz the Younger, who was commissioned to work on the tower in 1568.

UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Giralda was registered in 1987 as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, along with the Alcázar and the General Archive of the Indies.

Date: August 2018
Photographer: Merche Mateo
Additional information: wikipedia