Torre del Oro

The Torre del Oro is a twelve-sided tower on the east bank of the Guadalquivir River in Seville, and it is one of the best-known symbols of the city. The Almohad rulers built it in the early thirteenth century, around 1220, as part of the city’s defences. It stood at the end of a wall that ran from the Alcázar to the river, and a chain was stretched from the tower across the water to a counterpart on the Triana side, closing the river to enemy ships. The chain was broken by Castilian ships during the siege of 1248, which ended Muslim rule in Seville.

The name, meaning Tower of Gold, has several explanations. One says the walls were once covered with glazed golden tiles; another points to the mortar of lime and straw, which gave a golden gleam in the sun and in its reflection on the river. A popular but later story links it to gold unloaded from the Americas, since ships from the New World docked at Seville after 1503, though that is better seen as a legend than as the origin of the name. The tower’s upper level, a circular lantern topped with a dome, was added in the eighteenth century by the engineer Sebastián van der Borcht, which gives the tower its present height of around thirty-six metres.

Over the centuries the tower has had many uses. It has been a chapel, a prison, a warehouse for gunpowder and an office, and since the twentieth century it has housed a small maritime museum. The exhibits cover the history of Seville’s port, navigation, ship models, maps and instruments, and give a sense of how important the river was to the city’s economy. The visit is short, because the rooms are small, and the stairs are narrow and steep, so it is not suited to people with reduced mobility.

The terrace at the top gives good views over the river, the Triana district across the water, the cathedral’s Giralda tower and the bullring. The tower is on the Paseo de Colón, the riverside promenade, close to the Real Maestranza bullring, and the walk along the river in the evening is especially pleasant when the stonework glows. Cruise boats leave from the quay beside it.

Entry is inexpensive, and the tower is open daily with reduced hours at weekends, though it closes on public holidays, so check the current schedule. The Alcazar and Seville Cathedral are within a few minutes’ walk, so the tower fits naturally into a day exploring the historic centre.