Building began in the early 15th century on the site of the Almohad congregational mosque, and the scale was the point from the start. The interior is one of the largest enclosed spaces in European church architecture, and standing in the nave is the argument the building was constructed to make.
⚠️ You will read that it is 'the largest Gothic cathedral in the world'. That depends entirely on whether you measure by area, volume or footprint, and different measures give different winners. It is unambiguously among the largest; this site leaves it there.
⭐ The retablo mayor behind the high altar is the piece that stops people: a wall of carved and gilded scenes, worked on for decades. Give it longer than you think.
The monument holding Columbus's remains is carried by four figures representing the kingdoms of Spain. ⚠️ Whether all of the remains inside are his has been argued over for a long time and testing has not entirely settled it.
Two survivals of the mosque are still here: the courtyard of orange trees and the minaret, now the Giralda.
Go into the nave and look up before you look at anything else. The scale is the thing, and it stops registering once you start reading the chapels.
Catedral de Sevilla, photographed
