What remains of the old city wall of Seville?

Seville was in times past the best walled city in Europe. To combat the population increase, the royal or public gates (there were also private ones) were widened and aligned with the city's main streets, thus facilitating the passage of people, horses, and carriages. In total, the walls of Seville came to have thirteen doors and six shutters.

Its enclosure of towers and walls was built by Julius Caesar, and perfected by August.

But they were the Arabs By 1147, they had completed the magnificent work of widening the city and also walling the expanded area. From 1147 until the 19th century, the walled area of Seville was as follows.

Ancient gates and posterns of the Seville city wall

Macarena Gate

• Macarena Gate. It was the old Puerta del Campo, popularly known today as the Arco de la Macarena. No fewer than... five kings: Ferdinand III, Isabella of Castile, Ferdinand of Aragon, Charles I and Philip IV. Naturally, over so many centuries, the gate has received numerous works, renovations, restorations and reconstructions, preserving some marbles embedded in its pillars that recall these events, in addition to another, very curious one, from 1630, in which the soldiers on duty at the gate who cannot perform their duties outside of it are remembered.

Cordoba Gate

• Cordoba Gate. It is actually a tower-gate, with a angled layout, located opposite the Capuchin monastery and next to the church of San Hermenegildo. These two gates, along with the Postigo del Aceite in the Arenal district, were the only ones that survived the 19th century, the rest being demolished during the revolution of 1868, also known as the 1869 uprising. The Glorious. Inside the Cordoba Gate is the dungeon where Saint Hermenegild He was confined until his execution.

Puerta del Sol

• The Puerta del Sol. At the intersection of Santa Lucía Street with Madre Isabel de la Trinidad and Sol Streets. It was called that because it was facing east and to have a huge sun engraved above the entrance arch. Beside it there was one of the tallest towers in Seville, also called the Gate of the Sun. Both the gate and the tower fell to the revolutionary wrecking ball, which, using the expansion of the city as an excuse and “the need to make Seville a modern city”, It swept away almost twenty centuries of history to sell them as demolition material.

Ossuary Gate

• Ossuary Gate. It was located at the intersection of Puñonrostro and Osario streets. Its name came from the existence of a nearby cemetery outside the city walls. She had a stuffed inside her chapel Dedicated to the Virgin of El Rocío. In the year 1578, and being Assistant of the City, Count of Barajas, It was renovated and numerous defects caused by the passage of time were repaired. The last remodeling It was completed in 1849. Twenty years later it was demolished.

Carmona Gate

• Carmona Gate. It was located at the end of San Esteban Street, at its intersection with the Muro de los Navarros. Like the previous gate, it was reconstructed entirely in 1578, when, being Assistant of Seville, Count of Barajas; It was given a simple and elegant form, with the coat of arms of the Dukes of Alcalá placed on the front. The aqueduct known as [name of aqueduct] ended on one of its sides. The Carmona Pipes, of which three small sections remain, two of them a few meters from where the gate stood and the other on Avenida de Andalucía, near the Los Pajaritos neighborhood. It was demolished in 1868.

Soap Gate

• Soap Gate. He was in the middle of the Tintes Street. It wasn't just destroyed, but to this day it has been completely impossible for me to find a painting, engraving or even a drawing that would have represented it.

• Meat Gate, on the corner of Santa María la Blanca and Cano Cueto. It received various names, like many others in the city; thus, it was called Vib-Ahoar Gate (name of the Muslim master builder who constructed it), Pearl Gate, Gate of the Jewish Quarter and Puerta de la Carne (due to the proximity of a slaughterhouse) which is the name that ultimately endured.

Alcázar Gate

• Alcázar Gate, which provided access from what is now Menéndez y Pelayo to the Murillo Gardens, which at that time were part of the Alcázar's own orchard. It was Almohad origin and replaced the Caliphate-era gate-tower. It received other names: of the Water Tower, from the alley of the Jewish Quarter either  from the Retiro Orchard.

Silver Arch or Gate of Victory

• Silver Arch or Gate of Victory. It was one of the natural access points to the Royal Alcázar. Also called the Abdelaziz Gate, it is located opposite the site of the former Coal Gate, at the intersection of Miguel Mañara Street and Constitution Avenue. This gate did not belong to the city wall, but rather to the Alcázar complex.

San Fernando Gate

• San Fernando Gate. It was a gate built in the 18th century at the end of San Fernando street when the Royal Tobacco Factory, now the University of Seville, was built, and the factory was included within the walled enclosure of the Sevillian capital. This section still exists And although it's hidden by the row of houses on the right side of San Fernando Street, it can be clearly seen from the English Garden of the Alcázar. Or at least that's what was believed, since, due to the Metrocentro installation works, it was discovered that it was actually located in the center of what is now San Fernando Street. The remains were cataloged and then covered over again, just as happened at other points along the route of the new urban transport system.

Jerez Gate

• Jerez Gate, Located in the current Plaza Puerta de Jerez, at the entrance to Avenida de la Constitución, in the area between the Hotel Alfonso XIII, the Palacio de Yanduri, and the Fuente de los Meones (Fountain of the Peeing). The Puerta de Jerez, already existing in the Muslim era, It consisted of two towers joined by a large portcullis that was lowered at night. In 1836 is remodeled significantly, removing the portcullis and towers and giving the gate a more modern appearance. Unfortunately, a few years later, specifically in 1864, is shot down.

Oil Gate

• Oil Gate, which still exists today next to the Post Office building, at the end of Dos de Mayo Street. It provides access to the Arenal neighborhood from Avenida de la Constitución. origin It dates back to 1107, during the reign of Ben Yusuf, although it was extensively renovated in the 16th century by Benvenuto Tortello, commissioned by the first Count of Barajas. In the 12th century, it served a different purpose and was known as Bad al-Qatay (Gate of Ships), as the shipyards for shipbuilding were located next to it. Later, it appears in some sources as the Alhóndiga Gate, the Oil Gate, or the Olive Gate.

Arenal Gate

• Arenal Gate. This gate was located at the intersection of Arfe, Federico Sánchez Bedoya, García de Vinuesa, Harinas, Castelar, and Antonia Díaz streets. It received the name of the wide sandy area From there, the road extended to the Guadalquivir River, stretching from the Torre del Oro to the Puerta de Triana, in what is now the Carretería neighborhood. Ships from the Indies and other parts of the world arrived at this point.

Triana Gate

• Triana Gate. It was located at the confluence of Zaragoza, San Pablo, and Gravina Streets. It was the only one with three arches, so it was called Puerta Trina (Three Gate), which quickly evolved into Triana because it was the natural connection to that neighborhood via the pontoon bridge.

Royal Gate

• Royal Gate. It was located at the intersection of San Laureano, Alfonso XII, Gravina and Goles streets next to the Chapel of the Brotherhood of Our Lady of Mercy, in a small square where there is a small remnant of the original Almohad wall, which bears a marble plaque, reflecting the royal visit.

San Antonio Gate

• San Antonio Gate. It was located between Curtidurías and Santa Ana streets, behind the San Antonio de Padua convent, whose main entrance is still on San Vicente street. It was opened in the 17th century for the convenience of the friars of that convent when administering the Holy Sacraments to the sick and dying.

Saint John's Gate

• Saint John's Gate, Located on Guadalquivir Street, between San Vicente and Torneo Streets, the gate was called Puerta del Ingenio until the 15th century. Later, its name was changed because it was situated in the San Juan de Acre neighborhood. Opposite the gate was a wharf where goods from the New World were unloaded. This wharf remained in use until 1574, when the new wharf built next to the Torre del Oro (Tower of Gold) came into service.

Barqueta Gate

• Almenilla or Barqueta Gate, on Calatravas street, near its intersection with Torneo street, in a small square called the Blanquillo.

Fair Gate

• Fair Gate or Garbage Gate. At the end of Feria Street, on the corner of Bécquer Street. There is absolutely no information about it—its design, its size, etc.—only its name, which must have been because this was the city's waste disposal point. And like other gates, this one too was demolished at the end of the 19th century. So, nothing remains.

Cuckoo's Gate

• Cuckoo's Gate. On Bécquer Street, just a few meters from the last entrance, but in a location that's not very clear. It should be your name to a colony of these birds that nested there. Initially, this access point cannot be considered a gate; it was a breach in the wall, constructed of fragile rammed earth. Over time, it became an entrance and exit to the city center, allowing people to avoid paying taxes on goods entering the city.

The history of the walls of Seville

The walls, although from 1492 The Moorish wars had ended, and they remained intact because they defended Seville. against floods from the Guadalquivir, and only from 1864 Walls and gates were torn down, when progress in the construction of hydraulic defense walls, and the diversions and straightening of the riverbed, made them unnecessary.

Maybe, if the phenomenon of tourism Had this been done fifty years earlier, Seville would have valued its walls not as a defense against floods, but as an artistic motif and tourist attraction, and they would have been preserved as a fascinating relic and a rich cultural heritage.

Surviving remains

The doors and shutters that survived

At present, the following remain standing the Macarena Gate and the Oil Gate, and half of the Cordoba Gate opposite the Capuchin Convent.

These gates retain some vertical stones, with two slots where boards were fitted to prevent water from entering the city when there were floods in the surrounding countryside.

Pieces of history that remained hidden

Although the walls were partly demolished in the 19th century, Many pieces of them remain. They are visible in the Macarena, from the Macarena arch to Capuchinos.

There is also a large section of walls with several towers, inside the convent or college of the Valley, on María Auxiliadora street.

There are also entire sections of walls remaining in the Gravina Street, Although they are not visible because they are covered by the houses, and on the other side they are also covered by the houses on Marqués de Paradas street.

There are other pieces of the wall in the Rositas Street, and a long canvas in the Castelar Street, also hidden by the houses.

In the Royal Gate, That is, at the end of Alfonso XII on the left, there remains a tower of Arab wall.

After many centuries, they are still with us…

Of the main defensive towers that Seville had, in addition to the wall towers, the following still exist: Golden Tower, on the Paseo de Colón next to the Guadalquivir River; the Silver Tower which is visible from Temprado Street, but is surrounded by buildings, enclosed in a garage on Santander Street, although, as we say, its upper part peeks out above said buildings, and can be seen and photographed from the door of the Hospital of the Holy Charity.

Another defensive tower, somewhat removed from the wall, is the Don Fadrique Tower, located within the courtyard of the Convent of Santa Clara, on Santa Clara street, which can be visited as it is owned by the City Council.

At the time the residential complex located in the Town Hall Square, In front of the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See, a section of Arab wall It was hidden by buildings and has now been made visible. Also on Menéndez y Pelayo Street, next to the Fombuena pharmacy, a section of the city wall has been uncovered and has likewise been cleaned and made visible, serving as an adornment to that place, a relic of an architectural past that we all have an interest in preserving.