Seville (Spain)

Seville (Sevilla) is Spain's only river port, as well as capital and largest city of Andalusia (autonomous territory of Spain). The city is located on River Guadalquivir and has population around 700,000 (metro around 1.5 million), which ranks it Spain's 4th-largest city.

Seville harbour (via Guadalquivir) offers access to Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean (via Gibraltar). Port Seville underwent a major reorganisation, resulting in annual cargo volume increase of over 5.3 million tons.

• Sevilla's Old Town area is sized 4 km2 (2 ml2) and has 3 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These are Archivo General de Indias (merchants' exchange), Alcázar of Seville (royal palace complex) and Seville Cathedral.
• The city was established by the Romans under the name Hispalis. Later it was renamed to Ishbiliya - following the Muslim conquest (712 AD). During Muslim Spain (aka Islamic Iberia, when the country was known as Al-Andalus) it was the second main city (after the capital Cordoba) of the Caliphate of Cordoba (929-1031 AD).
• Following the Muslim rule, in 1248 Sevilla was incorporated into the Kingdom of Castile under king Ferdinand III (1201-1252).
• Seville became one of Spanish Empire's largest economic centres after the Americas were discovered, as the river port was enlarged and used for Transatlantic trade.
• In 1519, the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521) departed from Sevilla on the first world circumnavigation voyage.
• After the 17th century, the city started a gradual economic decline as the river traffic was relocated to the nearby seaport Cadiz (today cruise port to Seville).

Seville cruise terminal