The Southern Autonomous Community of Spain is of great interest to tourists. The shores washed by the waters of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea are a paradise for those who prefer to spend their holidays on hot beaches, and medieval cities give the joy of exploring the masterpieces of world architecture to all fans of historical monuments. Art critics also willingly answer the question of what to see in Andalusia. Many famous painters were born in the region, and the Museums of Picasso and Murillo introduce admirers of their talent to the work of the greatest artists. Gourmets of Andalusia will delight with their varied and distinctive cuisine. You can taste the best Spanish seafood and Catalan wines for which the Iberian Peninsula is famous.
TOP 10 attractions of Andalusia
Seville Cathedral
Andalusia includes the province of Seville with the capital of the same name, which is also the main city of the entire autonomous community. Seville is famous for its sights, and, first of all, the cathedral. The largest Gothic temple in the Old World, the Cathedral of Seville was built in the 15th century. on the foundation of a mosque destroyed during the Reconquista.
The collegium of clergy at the episcopal see, according to the written testimony of contemporaries, decided to build a temple that "could never be surpassed":
- Consisting of five side chapels and the main chapel, the cathedral is 116 meters long. The width of the Seville temple is 76 m.
- The transverse nave is overlapped by a 56-meter-high vault in the flaming Gothic style.
- The cross over the temple was cast from the first gold that Christopher Columbus brought from the New World.
- The interiors are decorated with paintings by Velazquez, Goya and Murillo.
According to some historians, the remains of the great navigator are buried in the cathedral. However, as a result of the numerous movements of his ashes from Seville to Santo Domingo, Havana and back to Spain, the trail got confused, and the second popular version says that the body of Columbus's son rests in the Cathedral of Seville.
Giralda
The bell tower of the Seville Cathedral is a separate landmark in Andalusia. At the end of the XII century. Caliph Abu Yusuf Yakub was so inspired by the minaret of Koutoubia in Moroccan Marrakech that the author of the Giralda project was commissioned to build an equally beautiful tower. The result exceeded all expectations, and today the bell tower of the Seville Cathedral is called a magnificent example of Moorish art in Andalusia.
Initially, the height of the minaret was 82 meters, until the superstructure was erected in 1568. The tower has reached a height of 114 meters. During the Arab domination, the top was decorated with gilded balls, the reflection of which was visible to the traveler many tens of kilometers from the city. The roof of the tower was flat and for a long time it was used as the largest observatory in Europe.
The Giralda was renovated in the 16th century. by the Cordoba architect Erman Ruiz. The bell tower acquired the characteristic features of the Renaissance and received a weather vane in the form of a sculpture of Vera at the top. From the Spanish word "giraldillo", which means "weathervane", the belfry got its current name.
Alcazar
The Moors, who built the palace in Seville, hardly imagined that after many centuries the Alcazar would turn into one of the most famous sights of Andalusia. The palace complex has long been the residence of the Castilian and Spanish kings, and today it is visited by millions of tourists every year.
The first fort appeared on the site of the palace at the beginning of the 8th century. Then it was expanded and rebuilt into the palace of the Caliph, and five hundred years after the construction, the Spaniards who gained dominance in the region made their own contribution to the alteration of Alcazar.
The complex can be divided into several parts:
- Buildings from the Moorish period. The original walls are preserved in the Lions Court and the Sala de la Justicia. A distinctive feature of the decor is a finely crafted stone carving.
- The Gothic palace appeared in the XIII century. Its interiors are richly decorated with paintings, tapestries and sculptures.
- The Jaeger Court and the palace of King Pedro I were built a century later. The facade of the building is decorated in a Moorish style with carvings, gilding and handmade tiles.
- The Admiralty and the Chamber of Commerce were added after Columbus discovered new lands. Here work was carried out to organize trade with the New World.
The park around Alcazar was laid out in the 13th century. It is an excellent example of the art of landscape design.
Alhambra
Photos of the Red Fortress of Granada are often adorned with travel guides to Andalusia. The only remaining architectural monument of the era of Moorish rule in the province of Granada is still worthy of admiration.
The Alhambra stands on the La Sabica hill. The Arabs built the first fort on this site back in the 9th century. Then, before the Nasrid dynasty came to power, the Alhambra was only a medina, but with the appearance in the city of Muhammad ibn Nasr, the construction of a luxurious palace began, continued by the son of the emir of Granada. After the conquest of the province by the Catholic kings, the fortress turned into the residence of the monarchs.
On the plan of the fortress, several especially significant objects can be distinguished. The Alcazaba citadel with several towers built in the period from the 15th to the 17th centuries is worth the attention of tourists; the area of Ponds with underground cisterns and a series of gates through which people entered the Alhambra; the Nasrid Palace with courtyards and halls, luxuriously decorated with carvings and tiles; The Lviv Palace, where the Emir's private chambers were located.
The Alhambra occupies a huge territory, and it is worth allocating a whole day for sightseeing.
Alcazaba
In the homeland of Antonio Banderas in Malaga, you can organize not only a beach holiday worthy of a Hollywood star, but also an excursion program that is in no way inferior to cognitive walks in other regions of Spain. Among the main attractions of Andalusia and Malaga is the Alcazaba, an old fortress built by the Berbers in the 11th century.
During the construction of the palace, built by order of Badis ben Abus, marble taken from the ruins of a Roman theater was used. Columns adorned the private chambers of the Berber ruler. The perimeter of the fortress was surrounded by three rings of fortified walls with battlements and loopholes, and one could get inside through one of the eight gates, guarded by guards armed to the teeth.
Today, the Alcazaba offers visitors an exposition of the archaeological museum and walks through the territory of the fortress, restored in the last century.
Roman theater
Despite all the efforts of the builders of the Alcazaba, who used the marble of the Roman theater for their needs, the ancient ruins did not just survive to this day. They serve today as a stage for numerous festivals, celebrations and concerts that take place in the resort of Malaga every summer.
The Roman theater existed on this site already in the 1st century. BC NS. It was built by order of Octavian Augustus, because Malaga was in those distant times one of the provinces of the Roman Empire. For two centuries, plays were staged on the ancient stage, until the Berebers, who replaced the Romans, turned the theater into a quarry.
Cathedral of Cadiz
The province of Cadiz, which is part of Andalusia, with the administrative center of the same name, is an ancient and multifaceted land. The city claims to be one of the oldest in Europe: it was founded in the 11th century. BC NS. Phoenicians. A survivor of the Punic Wars, Carthaginians and Romans, Cadiz is famous for many attractions, but among them the cathedral stands out.
The temple was built in the period from 1722 to 1838. on the site of the previous one killed in the fire. The old cathedral was built by Alfonso the Wise in the 13th century.
The new cathedral of Cadiz very harmoniously combines the features of Baroque, neoclassicism and rococo, its towers and dome are visible from many points of the city, and the best view of the cathedral, which bears the name of the Holy Cross, opens from the sea. There is an observation deck under the dome, from where you can see the beauty of Andalusia.
Mesquite
The Roman Catholic cathedral in Cordoba was the result of the restructuring of the mosque, which was considered the second largest in the world in the Middle Ages. It was called the most magnificent architectural monument of the Umayyad dynasty. The reconquista brought many changes to the land of Spain, among which was the general reconstruction of Muslim buildings into Christian ones.
Mesquite began to be built in 748 by Emir Abd ar-Rahman. It is oriented to the south, unlike the rest of the Muslim religious buildings. This is due to the fact that the capital of the Umayyad Empire, Damascus, was located in the south.
The Mesquita is known for its 1,000 jasper and onyx columns, double arches supporting immense ceilings, and a dome strewn with many blue star-shaped tiles.
Alcazar of Cordoba
Its own fortress was built in the Middle Ages and in Cordoba. It was she who served as one of the main residences of Queen Isabella I of Castile. The citadel was erected by the Umayyads on the site of the Visigoth defensive structure, and King Fernando of Castile, who took the city in 1236, turned it into his palace. Alcazar was rebuilt by Alfonso the Just in the first third of the XIV century.
In the fortress, Isabella and Ferdinand received Columbus and blessed the navigator on his first voyage to the New World.
Calahorra Tower
At the end of the XII century. during the late Islamic domination, a defensive tower was built in Cordoba at the southern end of the Roman bridge. It was designed to stop the offensive of the alleged enemy, who decided to overcome the Guadalquivir River, dividing the city into two parts.
The Roman bridge itself appeared in the 1st century. BC NS. after the historic Battle of Mund. It has been of critical strategic importance for hundreds of years. The bridge is a 16-arched stone structure, which was repeatedly fortified and restored both during the Arab rule and in the era of the Reconquista.
At the northern end of the bridge is another Andalusian landmark - the Puerta del Puente gate, through which it was once possible to get inside the fortress wall.
The Calahorra Tower today houses a history museum.
