Sevilla, Andalucía 作者： 来源： 发布时间：2021-03-18
1. Population and Area
Pop: 1,519,639 (metro)
Area: 140 km2 (munip.)
Elev: 7 masl
Sevilla location in Spain within the community of Andalucía
https://goo.gl/maps/jKuQgodsbojvQNmw5
2. Natural geography
Nature and weather
Topography
The city is located in the middle of the depression and alluvial plain of the Guadalquivir. Thus, the municipality is located on a very flat and low-lying terrain, with an average altitude above sea level of seven meters. The maximum altitude of the municipality, in its eastern area, in Vereda, is barely 72 meters above sea level. ; On the other hand, despite the fact that Seville is not a coastal city, the last stretch of the Guadalquivir river and the Alfonso XIII canal in the municipality are practically at sea level. The city center is located at 11 meters above sea level. the horizontality of the city the generally low height of its buildings, especially in the center. The Giralda is the most representative tower in the city and was the highest for many years, standing 104 m high.
Hydrography
The municipality of Seville is crossed on its western side, by the Guadalquivir river, in whose hydrographic basin the entire province is integrated. It is located in the middle of the Guadalquivir valley, one of the three lithological units into which this basin is divided, in one of the last meanders that this river configures before entering the existing marsh area until its mouth.
The Guadalquivir is the longest river in Andalusia and the fifth in the Iberian Peninsula, with a length of 657 km. It is navigable through a main trunk of about 80 km in length, from its mouth to the Atlantic Ocean in Sanlúcar de Barrameda (Cádiz) to Seville, where the only river port in Spain is located.
The eastern and southeastern part of Seville is bathed by three other rivers, tributaries or sub-tributaries of the Guadalquivir on its left bank. The most important of them is the Guadaíra River, which rises in the Cádiz Sierra de Pozo Amargo, runs through the extreme southeast of the municipality and empties into the Guadalquivir, 20 km downstream from the Sevillian town center. The Tagarete and Tamarguillo streams complete the hydrographic network of the city.
Seville is approximately in the center of the lower course of the Guadalquivir, which begins about 90 km upstream in the municipality of Palma del Río (Córdoba) and ends about 80 km downstream at the mouth of the river.
Flora and fauna
Throughout the history of the city, a varied flora has developed that has resulted in each park and garden in Seville being different from the rest depending on the time and the reasons for which it was built. More than 750 species and plant varieties from various parts of the world are integrated into the city. Among the trees that, due to their characteristics and abundance, stand out with their flowering, are the jacarandas and bitter orange trees. In the road landscape there are also other frequent trees such as white acacias, plane trees, tipuanas or fire trees.
The city's historic gardens present a wide range of different styles and sizes with exotic species, such as the Alcázar gardens, María Luisa park, Las Delicias park or the American garden. In them it is possible to find trees such as ombú or bellasombra tree, rubber trees, magnolias, in addition to the aforementioned bananas, white acacias and jacarandas.
The wild species that make up the fauna of Seville are those that make the best use of waste from urban society and are very different from those found in historic gardens, urban parks, metropolitan parks and the banks of the Guadaíra and Guadalquivir rivers. .
The most numerous vertebrates that make up the Sevillian fauna are birds, and there are many types of birds in the different parks of the city. The fish, with the exception of the river, are represented by the carpines found in some ponds.
The Tamarguillo Park is a longitudinal river park located at the head of two historic streams: the Tamarguillo, which gives it its name, and the natural channel of the Ranillas stream, with its meanders through the floodplain. The large area, around 96 hectares, and its location next to the San Pablo airport on the outskirts of the city, provide great advantages for attracting birds, preserving a wetland of unique characteristics with its own species. They are frequent birds of prey such as common kestrels and lessers, booted eagles and common buzzards. There are other vertebrates typically associated with marsh environments, birds such as the common goose, the stilt, the mallard and the European pochard, as well as reptiles and amphibians: the Iberian tridactyl skink, the leprous terrapin or the pintojo frog.
Köppen Classification: Mediterran Climate
Under the Köppen Climate Classification climate classification, "dry-summer subtropical" climates are often referred to as "Mediterranean". This climate zone has an an average temperature above 10°C (50°F) in their warmest months, and an average in the coldest between 18 to -3°C (64 to 27°F). Summers tend to be dry with less than one-third that of the wettest winter month, and with less than 30mm (1.18 in) of precipitation in a summer month. Many of the regions with Mediterranean climates have relatively mild winters and very warm summers.
The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Csa". (Mediterran Climate).
The average temperature for the year in Seville is 65.5°F (18.6°C). The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of 81.3°F (27.4°C). The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of 51.1°F (10.6°C).
The highest recorded temperature in Seville is 113.0°F (45°C), which was recorded in August. The lowest recorded temperature in Seville is 23.0°F (-5°C), which was recorded in December.
The average amount of precipitation for the year in Seville is 21.0" (533.4 mm). The month with the most precipitation on average is December with 3.7" (94 mm) of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is July with an average of 0.1" (2.5 mm). There are an average of 52.0 days of precipitation, with the most precipitation occurring in December with 8.0 days and the least precipitation occurring in July with 0.0 days.
In terms of liquid precipitation, there are an average of 80.0 days of rain, with the most rain occurring in April with 11.0 days of rain, and the least rain occurring in July with 1.0 days of rain.
http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=19380&cityname=Seville%2C+Andalusia%2C+Spain&units=
Getting there and around
Get there
By plane – Sevilla International Airport (IATA: SVQ) is located about 25 minute-drive from the city center.
A bus service "Especial Aeropuerto (EA)" [18] runs about every 30 minutes from just outside the "Arrivals" hall during most of the day (though with longer gaps from 1PM-4PM) and costs €4 (€6 for a same day return) and takes 20-30 minutes. Taxis are always available next to the bus stop and run on a fixed fare to Seville center, €21.90 during the day and €24.41 after 10PM and on weekends/holidays. For the fixed airport fare taxi drivers turn off the meter.
An alternative is to fly to Jerez airport La Parra International Airport (IATA: XRY) located 10km from Jerez de la Frontera, are is 95km from Seville. Used by discount airlines such as Ryanair (from Frankfurt-Hahn London-Stansted).
By bus – The Spanish bus service is amazingly punctual and comfortable with most having air-con and a toilet. Believe it or not, to get to Seville from other cities in Spain it can sometimes be only minimally longer than train (but much cheaper). Check out your options first with the helpful Information desk you will find inside any terminal. The buses run regularly to/from most major cities, departing either from the Plaza de Armas bus station near the river, or the Prado de San Sebastián station near the University/Santa Cruz. Sometime queue for buying ticket from the ticket office on a busy day might take up to 20 min or more.
By train – Sevilla Santa Justa Station is on the eastern edge of Seville city center. Completed in 1991, the station is the southern terminus of the Spanish high speed AVE train service. There is also San Bernardo station which might suit depending on where you are travelling from and where in Seville you wish to be.
High-speed trains are great if time is of the essence, less than an hour from the wonderful city of Córdoba, less than three hours run from Madrid to Seville.
By car – Driving is also always an option for long distance travel in Spain but isn't as convenient or as useful once in town. If you intend to drive into Seville and are staying in one of the Old Towns, be aware that although Google Maps may say you can drive to your hotel, you very well may end up stuck in a tiny alleyway with virtually no way to turn around. Talk to your hotel before you plan to park at your hotel and learn what the street signs mean to keep you out of trouble.
Rideshare – Check out Blabla Car's carpooling service for rideshare options. A great option if you don't have a driver's license or want to avoid public transport.
COVID19 – International entry into Spain: subject to verification
Domestic travel is not restricted, but some conditions may apply
·Face masks are mandatory
·There is a social distancing requirement of 1.5 metres
·Domestic border crossings may be subject to approval, testing and quarantine
·Nationwide control measures in place
·Some COVID-19 travel conditions may apply in Spain and transport services are subject to change.
Get around
Sevilla has a great public transportation system. The buses run frequently and cover the majority of the city in their routes. There is a refillable multimodal card (named Tarjeta del consorcio), that can be used in local and metropolitan buses, the tramway and the metro, allowing transfers for two hours. It can be purchased for 1,5 € at many newsstands and the two main bus stations. There is also a card only for the local buses that doesn't allow transfers (Tarjeta multiviaje de Tussam) for a slightly cheaper fare (0,69 € instead 0,76 € for a local bus trip).
Sevici bikes are available throughout the city with special docking stations that allow you to easily grab a bike and go wherever you need, then drop it off at another station when you arrive. Bikes cost 11,50 euro for a week pass, which allows the first half hour free and subsequent hours are a euro each. Also, year passes can be purchased for 33 euro (39 with insurance) with each half hour free and additional hours 50 euro cents. It's cheaper to do an annual pass than over three weeks of weekly passes.
Scooters are available for rent for €30 for the day and €120 for the week. These are a cost-efficient way of getting around and a drivers license is not necessary.
A tram system is currently being incorporated into Sevilla's local transportation and is running from the San Bernardo Train Station to the Plaza Nueva but is expanding North and West into Triana.
Taxis are easily accessible throughout the city. Many offer decent rates, but tourists should beware of the possibility of a crooked cabbie. Cabify (Spanish Uber) is also available, it has the advantage of offering a fixed fare according to the distance of the trip, regardless of time.
Bike
Sevilla, the cultural heart of Andalusia is developing itself more and more as a cycling city. More than 62.14 miles of cycle lanes have been constructed which gives you the opportunity to discover this city fun, safe and fast by bike. Besides cycling in the city centre, it is also easy to discover the less touristic suburbs of Sevilla.
Also, Sevilla has implemented a cycling plan called ´Sevici´. Sevici counts more than 250 cycle stations where you can grab a bike and cycle from A to B. The total amount of bikes now is around 2500. Not only locals use this system. As a tourist you can buy a card for 11 euros. Which allows you to hop on and off and bike through the city.
Other great service in Seville for take a bike is Centerbici, where you can see Seville in an entertaining way, enjoyable and interesting. Daily guided routes in Seville, based on culture, nature and recreation. With bilingual guides that have a great deal of experience.
Tramway
There is a tramway lines that goes from San Bernardo train station to Plaza Nueva (City Hall), stopping at the Cathedral and Archivo de Indias (UNESCO World Heritage sites), near the historic center.
By metro
Seville's new metro opened on 2 April 2009. It follows a 18km reverse U from the south-west to the south-east through the southern end of the city centre where it stops at Plaza de Cuba, Prado de San Sebastian and San Bernardo and goes on to near cities in the metropolitan area. Tickets are €1.30 for a single zone (€0.82 using Tarjeta del consorcio) or €4.50 for one day all 3 zones unlimited trips, and the metro runs from 6.30AM-11PM on weekdays, and late departures are available on Fridays and Saturdays until 2 o'clock.
Commuter trains
There are 5 lines of commuter trains (Cercanías) in Sevilla. Line 4 is a circular line that runs inside Sevilla, linking Santa Justa and San Bernardo train station with the convention center. Lines 2 goes from Santa Justa train station to the Olympic Stadium and Cartuja 93 technology park (old Expo-92 site). The other lines go to nearby cities in the metropolitan area.
https://wikitravel.org/en/Seville
3. GDP
GDP: 38,215 M EUR (2017)
4. Industry characteristics
Seville is the most populated city in southern Spain, and has the largest GDP (gross domestic product) of any in Andalusia, accounting for one-quarter of its total GDP. All municipalities in the metropolitan area depend directly or indirectly on Seville's economy, while agriculture dominates the economy of the smaller villages, with some industrial activity localised in industrial parks. The Diputacion de Sevilla (Deputation of Seville), with provincial headquarters in the Antiguo Cuartel de Caballería (Old Cavalry Barracks) on Avenida Menendez Pelayo, provides public services to distant villages that they can not provide themselves.
The economic activity of Seville cannot be detached from the geographical and urban context of the city; the capital of Andalusia is the centre of a growing metropolitan area. Aside from traditional neighbourhoods such as Santa Cruz, Triana and others, those further away from the centre, such as Nervión, Sevilla Este, and El Porvenir have seen recent economic growth. Until the economic crisis of 2007, this urban area saw significant population growth and the development of new industrial and commercial parks.
During this period, availability of infrastructure in the city contributed to the growth of an economy dominated by the service sector, but in which industry still holds a considerable place.
Infrastructure
The 1990s saw massive growth in investment in infrastructure in Seville, largely due to its hosting of the Universal Exposition of Seville in 1992. This economic development of the city and its urban area is supported by good transportation links to other Spanish cities, including a high-speed AVE railway connection to Madrid, and a new international airport.
Seville has the only inland port in Spain, located 80 km (50 mi) from the mouth of the River Guadalquivir. This harbour complex offers access to the Atlantic and the Mediterranean and allows trade in goods between the south of Spain (Andalusia, Extremadura) and Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The port has undergone reorganisation. Annual tonnage rose to 5.3 million tonnes of goods in 2006.
Cartuja 93 is a research and development park. employing 15,000 persons. The Sevilla Tower skyscraper was started in March 2008 and was completed in 2015. With a height of 180.5 metres (592 feet) and 40 floors, it's the tallest building in Andalusia.
Seville has conference facilities, including the Conference and Convention Centre. It's Parque Tecnológico y Aeronáutico Aerópolis (Technological and Aeronautical Park) is focused on the aircraft industry. Outside of Seville are nine PS20 solar power towers which use the city's sunny weather to provide most of it with clean and renewable energy.
Research and development
The Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas en Sevilla (CSIC) is based in the former Pavilion of Peru in the Maria Luisa Park. In April 2008 the city council of Seville provided a grant to renovate the building to create the Casa de la Ciencia (Science Centre) to encourage popular interest in science. The internationally recognised company Neocodex has its headquarters in Seville; it maintains the first and largest DNA bank in Spain and has made significant contributions to scientific research in genetics. Seville is also considered an important technological and research centre for renewable energy and the aeronautics industry.
The output of the research centres in Sevillan universities working in tandem with city government, and the numerous local technology companies, have made Seville a leader among Spanish cities in technological research and development. The Parque Científico Tecnológico Cartuja 93 is a nexus of private and public investment in various fields of research.
Principal fields of innovation and research are telecommunications, new technologies, biotechnology (with applications in local agricultural practices), environment and renewable energy.
5. Attractions
Alcázar of Seville
Historically known as al-Qasr al-Muriq and commonly known as the Alcázar of Seville , is a royal palace in Seville, Spain, built for the Christian king Peter of Castile. It was built by Castilian Christians on the site of an Abbadid Muslim alcazar, or residential fortress destroyed after the Christian conquest of Seville. The palace is a preeminent example of Mudéjar architecture in the Iberian Peninsula but features Gothic, Renaissance and Romanesque design elements from previous stages of construction. The upper storeys of the Alcázar are still occupied by the royal family when they are in Seville, and are administered by the Patrimonio Nacional. It was registered in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
The palace is known for its tile decoration. The two tile types used are majolica and arista tiles. In the arista technique, the green body is stamped and each tile segment has raised ridges. This technique produces tiles with transparent glazes that are not flat. The art of majolica ceramics was developed later in the 15th-16th centuries. The innovation made it possible to "paint" directly on ceramics covered with white opaque glazes. Being a trade center, Seville had access to large scale production of these tiles. They were mainly of geometric design inspired by arabesque ornamentation.
Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See
It was registered in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, along with the adjoining Alcázar palace complex and the General Archive of the Indies. It is the fourth-largest church in the world (its size remains a matter of debate) as well as the largest Gothic church.
After its completion in the early 16th century, Seville Cathedral supplanted Hagia Sophia as the largest cathedral in the world, a title the Byzantine church had held for nearly a thousand years. The total area occupied by the building is 11,520 square metres (124,000 sq ft). The Gothic section alone has a length of 126 m (413 ft), a width of 76 m (249 ft), and its maximum height in the center of the transept is 42 m (138 ft). The total height of the Giralda tower from the ground to the weather vane is 104.5 m (342 ft 10 in).
The interior has the longest nave of any cathedral in Spain. The central nave rises to a height of 42 m (138 ft). In the main body of the cathedral, the most noticeable features are the great boxlike choir loft, which fills the central portion of the nave, and the vast Gothic retablo of carved scenes from the life of Christ. This altarpiece was the lifetime work of a single craftsman, Pierre Dancart.
The builders preserved some elements from the ancient mosque. The mosque's sahn, that is, the courtyard for ablutions for the faithful to conduct their ritual cleansing before entering the prayer hall is known today as the Patio de los Naranjos. It contains a fountain and orange trees. However, the most well known is its minaret, which was converted into a bell tower known as La Giralda, and is now the city's most well-known symbol.
Palace of San Telmo
The Palace of San Telmo (Spanish: Palacio de San Telmo) is a historical edifice in Seville, southern Spain, formerly the Universidad de Mareantes (a university for navigators), now is the seat of the presidency of the Andalusian Autonomous Government. Construction of the building began in 1682 outside the walls of the city, on property belonging to the Tribunal of the Holy Office, the institution responsible for the Spanish Inquisition. It was originally constructed as the seat of the University of Navigators (Universidad de Mareantes), a school to educate orphaned children and train them as sailors.
The palace is one of the emblematic buildings of Sevillian Baroque architecture. It is built on a rectangular plan, with several interior courtyards, including a central courtyard, towers on the four corners, a chapel, and gardens. The exuberantly baroque chapel, accessed from one of the courtyards, is the work of architect Leonardo de Figueroa; among those involved in its decoration were sculptor Pedro Duque y Cornejo, stonecutter Miguel de Quintana, painter Domingo Martínez, and carpenter Juan Tomás Díaz. Presiding over the chapel is an early 17th-century statue of Nuestra Señora del Buen Aire ("Our Lady of Good Air").
12 things to do in SEVILLE, Spain | Voted as Lonely Planet's Top 10 'Best in Travel' | Travel Guide
https://youtu.be/kb08lxcVXOs
6. History
Seville is approximately 2,200 years old. The passage of the various civilizations instrumental in its growth has left the city with a distinct personality, and a large and well-preserved historical centre.
Early periods
The mythological founder of the city is Hercules (Heracles), commonly identified with the Phoenician god Melqart, who the myth says sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar to the Atlantic, and founded trading posts at the current sites of Cádiz and of Seville. The original core of the city, in the neighbourhood of the present-day street, Cuesta del Rosario, dates to the 8th century BC, when Seville was on an island in the Guadalquivir. Archaeological excavations in 1999 found anthropic remains under the north wall of the Real Alcázar dating to the 8th–7th century BC. The town was called Hisbaal by the Phoenicians and by the Tartessians, the indigenous pre-Roman Iberian people of Tartessos, who controlled the Guadalquivir Valley at the time.
The city was known from Roman times as Hispal and later as Hispalis. Hispalis developed into one of the great market and industrial centres of Hispania, while the nearby Roman city of Italica (present-day Santiponce, birthplace of the Roman emperors Trajan and Hadrian) remained a typically Roman residential city. Large-scale Roman archaeological remains can be seen there and at the nearby town of Carmona as well.
Existing Roman features in Seville itself include the remains exposed in situ in the underground Antiquarium of the Metropol Parasol building, the remnants of an aqueduct, three pillars of a temple in Mármoles Street, the columns of La Alameda de Hércules and the remains in the Patio de Banderas square near the Seville Cathedral. The walls surrounding the city were originally built during the rule of Julius Caesar, but their current course and design were the result of Moorish reconstructions.
Following Roman rule, there were successive conquests of the Roman province of Hispania Baetica by the Germanic Vandals, Suebi and Visigoths during the 5th and 6th centuries.
Moorish era
Seville was taken by the Moors, during the conquest of Hispalis in 712. It was the capital for the kings of the Umayyad Caliphate, the Almoravid dynasty first and after the Almohad dynasty (from Arabic al-Muwahhidun, i.e., "the monotheists" or "the Unitarians"), from the 8th to 13th centuries.
The Moorish urban influences continued and are present in contemporary Seville, for instance in the custom of decorating with plants and small fountains in the courtyards of the houses. However, most buildings of the Moorish aesthetic actually belong to the Mudéjar style of Islamic art, developed under Christian rule and inspired by the Arabic style. Original Moorish buildings are the Patio del Yeso in the Alcázar, the city walls, and the main section of the Giralda, the bell tower of the Seville Cathedral.
Castilian rule
In 1247, the Christian King Ferdinand III of Castile and León began the conquest of Andalusia. After conquering Jaén and Córdoba, he besieged Seville while capturing two nearby villages, Carmona Lora del Rio, and Alcalá del Rio. The siege lasted fifteen months. The decisive action took place in May 1248 when Ramón Bonifaz sailed up the Guadalquivir and severed the Triana bridge used to provision the city from the farms of the Aljarafe. The city surrendered on 23 November 1248.
The city's development continued after the Castilian conquest in 1248. Public buildings were constructed including churches—many of which were built in the Mudéjar and Gothic styles—such as the Seville Cathedral, built during the 15th century with Gothic architecture. Other Moorish buildings were converted into Catholic edifices, as was customary of the Catholic Church during the Reconquista. For example, the Torre del Oro—once an important Moorish naval watchtower along the Guadalquivir—was converted into a cathedral by 1271. The Moors' Palace became the Castilian royal residence, and during Pedro I's rule it was replaced by the Alcázar (the upper levels are still used by the Spanish royal family as the official Seville residence).
After the 1391 pogrom, believed to having been instigated by the Archdeacon Ferrant Martínez, all the synagogues in Seville were converted to churches (renamed Santa María la Blanca, San Bartolomé, Santa Cruz, and Convento Madre de Dios). The Jewish quarter's land and shops (which were located in modern-day Barrio Santa Cruz) were appropriated by the church. Many were killed during the pogrom, although most were forced to convert.
The first tribunal of the Spanish Inquisition was instituted in Seville in 1478. Its primary charge was to ensure that all nominal Christians were really behaving like Christians, and not practicing what Judaism they could in secret. At first, the activity of the Inquisition was limited to the dioceses of Seville and Córdoba, where Alonso de Ojeda had detected converso activity.[further explanation needed] The first Auto de Fé took place in Seville on 6 February 1481, when six people were burned alive. Alonso de Ojeda himself gave the sermon. The Inquisition then grew rapidly. The Plaza de San Francisco was the site of the 'autos de fé'. By 1492, tribunals existed in eight Castilian cities: Ávila, Córdoba, Jaén, Medina del Campo, Segovia, Sigüenza, Toledo, and Valladolid; and by the Alhambra Decree all Jews were forced to convert to Catholicism or be exiled (expelled) from Spain.
The Golden Age
Following the 1492 Christopher Columbus expedition to the New World (from the port of Palos de la Frontera), the results from his claiming territory and trade for the Crown of Castile (soon to be Spain) in the West Indies began to profit the city, as all goods imported from the New World were required to pass through the Casa de Contratación before being distributed throughout the rest of Spain. Unlike other harbours, reaching the port of Seville required sailing about 80 kilometres (50 mi) up the River Guadalquivir, which had been heavily defended with fortifications since the Middle Ages. This made Seville the best defended port to receive the riches transported from the Americas. A 'golden age of development' commenced in Seville, due to its being the only port awarded the royal monopoly for trade with the growing Spanish colonies in the Americas and the influx of riches from them. Since only sailing ships leaving from and returning to the inland port of Seville could engage in trade with the Spanish Americas, merchants from Europe and other trade centres needed to go to Seville to acquire New World trade goods. The city's population grew to more than a hundred thousand people.
Seville in the late 16th century
In the late 16th century the monopoly was broken, with the port of Cádiz also authorised as a port of trade. Throughout the 17th century, colonial trade declined. Spain's American Colonies improved their production of basic goods, reducing their need to import. Compounded with these tribulations was the silting of the Guadalquivir river in the 1620s, which made Seville's harbors harder to use, and ceased upriver shipping. The Great Plague of Seville in 1649, exacerbated by excessive flooding of the Guadalquivir, reduced the population by almost half, and it would not recover until the early 19th century. By the 18th century, Seville's international importance was in decline. After the silting up of the harbour by the River Guadalquivir, upriver shipping ceased and the city went into relative economic decline.
The writer Miguel de Cervantes lived primarily in Seville between 1596 and 1600. Because of financial problems, Cervantes worked as a purveyor for the Spanish Armada, and later as a tax collector. In 1597, discrepancies in his accounts of the three years previous landed him in the Royal Prison of Seville for a short time. His short story Rinconete y Cortadillo, since the 19th century one of his most-read pieces, includes much description of Sevillian society; it features two young vagabonds who come to Seville, attracted by the riches and disorder that the 16th-century commerce with the Americas had brought to the city.
18th century
During the 18th century Charles III of Spain promoted Seville's industries. Construction of the Real Fábrica de Tabacos (Royal Tobacco Factory) began in 1728, with additions to it over the next 30 years.[citation needed] It was the second-largest building in Spain, after the royal residence El Escorial. Since the 1950s it has been the seat of the rectorate (administration) of the University of Seville, as well as its Schools of Law, Philology (language/letters), Geography, and History.
More operas have been set in Seville than in any other city of Europe. In 2012, a study of experts concluded the total number of operas set in Seville is 153. Among the composers who fell in love with the city are Beethoven (Fidelio), Mozart (The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni), Rossini (The Barber of Seville), Donizetti (La favorite), and Bizet (Carmen).
The first newspaper in Spain outside of Madrid was Seville's Hebdomario útil de Seville, which began publication in 1758.
19th and 20th centuries
Between 1825 and 1833, Melchor Cano acted as chief architect in Seville; most of the urban planning policy and architectural modifications of the city were made by him and his collaborator Jose Manuel Arjona y Cuba.
Industrial architecture surviving today from the first half of the 19th century includes the ceramics factory installed in the Carthusian monastery at La Cartuja in 1841 by the Pickman family, and now home to the El Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo (CAAC), which manages the collections of the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Sevilla. It also houses the rectory of the UNIA.
In the years that Queen Isabel II ruled directly, about 1843–1868, the Sevillian bourgeoisie invested in a construction boom unmatched in the city's history. The Isabel II bridge, better known as the Triana bridge, dates from this period; street lighting was expanded in the municipality and most of the streets were paved during this time as well.
By the second half of the 19th century, Seville had begun an expansion supported by railway construction and the demolition of part of its ancient walls, allowing the urban space of the city to grow eastward and southward. The Sevillana de Electricidad Company was created in 1894 to provide electric power throughout the municipality, and in 1901 the Plaza de Armas railway station was inaugurated.
In 1929 the city hosted the Ibero-American Exposition, which accelerated the southern expansion of the city and created new public spaces such as the Plaza de España and the Maria Luisa Park. Not long before the opening, the Spanish government began a modernisation of the city in order to prepare for the expected crowds by erecting new hotels and widening the mediaeval streets to allow for the movement of automobiles.
Seville fell very quickly at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War in 1936. General Queipo de Llano carried out a coup within the city, quickly capturing the city centre. Radio Seville opposed the uprising and called for the peasants to come to the city for arms, while workers' groups established barricades. Queipo then moved to capture Radio Seville, which he used to broadcast propaganda on behalf of the Francoist forces. After the initial takeover of the city, resistance continued among residents of the working-class neighbourhoods for some time, until a series of fierce reprisals took place.
Under Francisco Franco's rule Spain was officially neutral in World War II (although it did collaborate with the Axis powers), and like the rest of the country, Seville remained largely economically and culturally isolated from the outside world. In 1953 the shipyard of Seville was opened, eventually employing more than 2,000 workers in the 1970s. Before the existence of wetlands regulation in the Guadalquivir basin, Seville suffered regular heavy flooding; perhaps worst of all were the floods that occurred in November 1961 when the River Tamarguillo, a tributary of the Guadalquivir, overflowed as a result of a prodigious downpour of rain, and Seville was consequently declared a disaster zone.
Trade unionism in Seville began during the 1960s with the underground organisational activities of the Workers' Commissions or Comisiones Obreras (CCOO), in factories such as Hytasa, the Astilleros shipyards, Hispano Aviación, etc. Several of the movement's leaders were imprisoned in November 1973. On 3 April 1979 Spain held its first democratic municipal elections after the end of Franco's dictatorship; councillors representing four different political parties were elected in Seville. On 5 November 1982, Pope John Paul II arrived in Seville to officiate at a Mass before more than half a million people at the fairgrounds. He visited the city again on 13 June 1993, for the International Eucharistic Congress.
In 1992, coinciding with the fifth centenary of the Discovery of the Americas, the Universal Exposition was held for six months in Seville, on the occasion of which the local communications network and urban infrastructure was greatly improved under a 1987 PGOU plan launched by Mayor Manuel del Valle: the SE-30 ring road around the city was completed and new highways were constructed; the new Seville-Santa Justa railway station had opened in 1991, while the Spanish High-Speed Rail system, the Alta Velocidad Española (AVE), began to operate between Madrid-Seville. The Seville Airport was expanded with a new terminal building designed by the architect Rafael Moneo, and various other improvements were made. The Alamillo Bridge and the Centenario Bridge, both crossing over the Guadalquivir, also were built for the occasion. Some of the installations remaining at the site after the exposition were converted into the Scientific and Technological Park Cartuja 93.
21st century
In 2004 the Metropol Parasol project, commonly known as Las Setas (The Mushrooms), due to the appearance of the structure, was launched to revitalise the Plaza de la Encarnación, for years used as a car park and seen as a dead spot between more popular tourist destinations in the city. The Metropol Parasol was completed in March 2011, costing just over €102 million in total, more than twice as much as originally planned. Constructed from crossed wooden beams, Las Setas is said to be the largest timber-framed structure in the world.
7. Other Information: ethymology and motto
Hisbaal is the oldest name for Seville. It appears to have originated during the Phoenician colonisation of the Tartessian culture in south-western Iberia and it refers to the God Baal. According to Manuel Pellicer Catalán, the ancient name was Spal, and it meant "lowland" in the Phoenician language (cognate to the Hebrew Shfela and the Arabic Asfal. During Roman rule, the name was Latinised as Hispal and later as Hispalis. After the Umayyad invasion, this name remained in use among the Mozarabs, being adapted into Arabic as Išbīliya: since the /p/ phoneme does not exist in Arabic, it was replaced by /b/; the Latin place-name suffix -is was Arabized as -iya, and a /æ/ turned into ī /iː/ due to the phonetic phenomenon called imāla.
In the meantime, the city's official name had been changed to Ḥimṣ al-Andalus, in reference to the city of Homs in modern Syria, the jund of which Seville had been assigned to upon the Umayyad conquest; "Ḥimṣ al-Andalus" remained a customary and affectionate name for the city during the whole period throughout the Muslim Arab world, being referred to for example in the encyclopedia of Yaqut al-Hamawi or in Abu al-Baqa ar-Rundi's Ritha' al-Andalus.
The city is sometimes referred to as the "Pearl of Andalusia".
The inhabitants of the city are known as sevillanos (feminine form: sevillanas) or hispalenses, after the Roman name of the city.
Motto
NO8DO is the official motto of Seville, popularly believed to be a rebus signifying the Spanish No me ha dejado, meaning "She [Seville] has not abandoned me". The phrase, pronounced with synalepha as no-madeja-do, is spelled with an eight in the middle representing the word madeja [maˈðexa] "skein [of wool]". Legend states that the title was given by King Alfonso X, who was resident in the city's Alcázar and supported by the citizens when his son, later Sancho IV of Castile, tried to usurp the throne from him.
The emblem is present on Seville's municipal flag, and features on city property such as manhole covers, and Christopher Columbus's tomb in the cathedral.
8. Contact Information
City Mayor: Juan Espadas Cejas
Phone number: +34 (955) 01 0010
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JuanEspadasSVQ
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JuanEspadasSVQ
Website: https://www.sevilla.org
Govt. Office Address: Plaza Nueva, 1, 41001 Sevilla, Spain