Seville

se-vil', a city of Spain. It stands at the head of navigation on the Guadalquiver River. It lies in the fertile province of Seville, a region abounding in wine, oranges, and olives. The mountains near by yield an abundant supply of silver, lead, iron, coal, rock salt, chalk, and marble. The city was an ancient Roman colony. It was the western seat of empire of the Vandals and was an important city of the Goths. In 712 it passed under the control of the Arabs, who fortified the town strongly and adorned it with many magnificent buildings. In 1248 it was retaken by the Christians and 300,000 Moorish inhabitants went into exile. After the discovery of America, Seville was the first Spanish seat of commerce with the New World. It is still the most important commercial city of Spain. It is also an important manufacturing center of tobacco, leather, paper, spirits, chocolate, silk and woolen goods, soap, glass, and earthenware. The population in 1900 was returned at 148,315.

Although in a state of more or less decay, Seville is still the most interesting city architecturally in Spain,-one of the most interesting cities in Europe. The Gothic cathedral is nearly as large as that of St. Peter's at Rome. The exterior is homely, but the interior is beautiful. Clustered columns, stained glass, Gothic wood carvings, silver statues, the archbishop's throne, a huge chandelier, and choir stalls make a deep impression. There are good pictures by Murillo and other celebrated painters. The organ is one of the largest and finest in the world. It contains 5,300 pipes. The bell tower, 275 feet in height, is ascended by a series of inclined planes. It is of Moorish origin, and it is considered one of the finest specimens of the kind in Europe. The Alcazar, an old Moorish palace, rivals the Alhambra in delicacy and magnificence. There are many other Moorish palaces. One is mentioned by travelers as having eleven courtyards and nine fountains. The University of Seville, founded in 1502, occupies buildings originally built for a convent. The city exchange contains a mass of documents, known as the Archives, pertaining to colonial days. Only a small portion of them have been read as yet by modern scholars. A public bull rink seats 18,000 spectators. In size it ranks second in Spain.

See Spain