About

The Torre del Oro Museo Naval is a defensive tower from the thirteenth century from which a thick chain extended to the other bank of the river, in order to cut off the passage of enemy ships.

This tower, albarrana, 36 metres high and located on the left bank of the Guadalquivir River, has three bodies: the first two are dodecagonal, the first erected by the Almohads while the second was built by Pedro I "The Cruel". The third body is cylindrical and topped with a dome, it was erected in the eighteenth century. The tower defended the river entrance to the Puente de Barcas and, by land, the access to the Arenal with its industrial activity. This tower was joined to the Torre de la Plata through some stretches of wall called "coracha" that in turn did so with the Alcázar.

Today, the Torre del Oro houses a small, but interesting, naval museum that comprises two floors that can be visited and a panoramic terrace. Before being a museum, the monument was used as a chapel, a prison for nobles, a gunpowder warehouse, offices of the Port Captaincy and the Naval Command.

It constitutes, together with the Giralda, one of the most representative symbols of the city of Seville. It was declared a historic-artistic monument in 1931.

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