Description of the attraction
In Seville, there is a unique archive that contains all information about the history of the colonies belonging to the Spanish Empire in America and the Philippines - the archive of the Indies. The building that houses the archive was built in the Renaissance style by the architect Juan de Herrera between 1584 and 1598. The architect created a project commissioned by King Philip II, who wished to create a building in Seville for the local guild of merchants. The facade of the building looks rather restrained, the roof is framed by a row of balustrades, obelisks are placed at the corners. The decoration of the building continued until 1629.
In 1785, according to the decree of King Charles III, the archive of the Council of the Indies was sent here, which was caused by the desire to combine in one place a large number of documents containing information about Spain as a large and successful maritime power. In order to accommodate all the collected documents previously stored in Seville, Cadiz and Simancas, the building had to be somewhat transformed.
Today the archive of the Indies is truly unique in terms of the volume and completeness of the information contained here. In total, 43 thousand volumes are stored here, and the total length of all shelves on which books and documents are placed is close to 9 km. It contains various maps, information on the sea voyages of Spanish sailors, plans for the conquered, as well as cities based on the captured lands, information about the Spanish conquistadors, nautical journals and reports of Columbus, and much more.
In 1987, the building of the Archives of the Indies, as well as the materials stored in it, were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
