Torre del oro

Tower of Gold

By Belengp
  • Period: Mar 30, 1220 to Feb 24, 1221

    Construction of the tower

    Its construction began on March 30, 1220, and was completed on February 24, 1221. It was built by order of the Almohad governor of Seville, Abù l-Ulà. The defensive system of the Almohad city was completed with this tower.
  • 1248

    Conquest

    Conquest
    The Castilian fleet commanded by Admiral Ramón de Bonifaz broke the bridge next to the tower in 1248 while the troops of Fernando III of Castile besieged the city.
    After being conquered by Fernando, it was used as a chapel dedicated to San Isidoro.
    Besides, another interesting thing is that later it was used as a prison
  • First damage to the tower

    First damage to the tower
    The tower was seriously damaged by the Lisbon earthquake of 1755
  • Reconstruction and changes

    Reconstruction and changes
    The damage was fixed.
    Moreover, that same year Sebastián Van der Borcht and the architect of the Royal Tobacco Factory in Seville built the upper cylindrical body.
  • The Revolution of 1868

    The Revolution of 1868
    The revolutionaries wanted to demolish the canvases of the walls and sale them, the people of Seville opposed to that and they managed to prevent the tower from being destroyed.
  • Restoration more than 100 years later

    Restoration more than 100 years later
    It was restored by the engineer Carlos Halcon in that year.
  • Visit of Alfonso XIII

    Visit of Alfonso XIII
    Alfonso XIII visited the tower on that day.
  • The Maritime Museum

    The Maritime Museum
    The Ministry of the Navy ordered to install in the tower the Maritime Museum.
  • Another restoration

    Another restoration
    The apperance of the tower improved. They added two floors for the museum and a third one for the house reachers.
  • A new museum

    A new museum
    For this museum, 400 pieces were taken from the Naval Museum of Madrid.
  • The Universal Exhibition of Seville

    The Universal Exhibition of Seville
    In that day, this tower was twinned with the Belem tower in Lisbon.
  • The last restoration of the tower

    The last restoration of the tower
    The tower suffered the last restoration on that year.