Reales Alcázares

The Alcázar of Seville, officially called Royal Alcázar of Seville (Spanish: Real Alcázar de Sevilla or Reales Alcázares de Sevilla), is a historic royal palace in Seville, Spain and one of the official residences of the Spanish royal family. It was formerly the site of the Islamic-era citadel of the city, begun in the 10th century under the Umayyads and then developed into a larger palace complex by the Abbadid dynasty (11th century) and the Almohads (12th to early 13th centuries). After the Castilian conquest of the city in 1248, the site was progressively rebuilt and replaced by new palaces and gardens. Among the most important of these is a richly decorated Mudéjar-style palace built by Pedro I during the 1360s.

The palace is a preeminent example of Mudéjar style in the Iberian Peninsula and also includes sections with Gothic and Renaissance elements. The upper storeys of the Alcázar are still occupied by the royal family when they visit Seville and are administered by the Patrimonio Nacional. It was registered in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, along with the adjoining Seville Cathedral and the General Archive of the Indies.

Text adapted from “Alcázar of Seville” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Reales Alcázares ranks #64 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #4 of the 600 mapped in Spain. Founded c. 950, it is older than 93% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 129 atlas entries founded in the 10th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 47,326 times in the last 60 days, more than 99% of the atlas. 11 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Seville, 1 km away. It is one of the 125 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of Andalusia. See how Spain compares in the castle statistics.

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