Golden Tower (Torre del Oro) description and photos - Spain: Seville (Topic)

Golden Tower (Torre del Oro) description and photos - Spain: Seville. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Torre del Oro.

Photo and description

The Golden Tower is one of the main attractions of Seville and has become one of its symbols. The structure, which is an example of Moorish architecture, was erected on the banks of the Guadalquivir River in 1120. On the opposite bank there was exactly the same tower, which, unfortunately, has not survived to our times. The towers were connected by a massive iron chain, which descended to block the way to Seville by river. Once the tower was part of the fortress wall that surrounded the city and was completely destroyed later, the Golden Tower itself has survived almost in its original form.

There are two versions of the origin of the name of the tower. According to one of them, the tower was named Golden, because its upper part is lined with white clay bricks, which, shining in the sun, cast in golden color. Another version says that the tower served as a repository for gold and other jewelry, hence its name.

Over the years of its history, the Golden Tower has been used first as a storehouse of valuables, then as a prison, then as a port structure. Today the Golden Tower houses the funds of the City Naval Museum.

The tower consists of three levels. The two lower levels are in the form of 12-gons. The cylindrical upper level was completed in 1769. During the last two centuries, attempts have been made to demolish the tower in order to widen the road, but thanks to the resistance of local residents, the tower has been preserved

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Topic: Golden Tower (Torre del Oro) description and photos - Spain: Seville.